JEDDAH: Saudi national football team head coach Herve Renard is confident his players can qualify for the nation’s seventh World Cup finals since 1994.
Speaking in Jeddah on Tuesday on the eve of their opening match in the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, against Indonesia, he said: “We’re on the right track, technically.
“We had a training camp in Europe during the last break. Tomorrow is a different match and everyone has hopes of qualifying for the World Cup. I’m confident that we’ll give more than 100 percent to reach the World Cup.
“I came here a year ago and the goal was to qualify directly, but that didn’t happen because we needed to improve in several aspects. We have made good progress in our performance since the Gulf Cup, and we must prove that on the field because the truth always appears on the field.”
The Saudis were defeated 2-1 by Oman in the semifinals of the Gulf Cup in December.
“Last January, I decided to change a large number of players; 50 percent of the players who were with us at that time changed,” Renard said.
“We developed, technically, and tomorrow we will see if we have developed enough.”
He revealed that his message to his players ahead of the game was simple: “We will qualify for the World Cup together.”
Indonesia’s coach, Patrick Kluivert, said he was not afraid to face the Green Falcons at home, in front of 60,000 Saudi fans.
“I know it is a crucial game but the Garuda players are ready to make the country proud,” he said.
“We consider this match as a final and we will do everything we can to achieve a positive result. We are confident that we will perform strongly.
“I won’t make any excuses, whatever the reason. Despite the late arrival of some players from Europe, we have no excuses at all. Although the absence of the goalkeeper is significant, we have the right alternative and we will seek to exploit set pieces. We will be a very difficult opponent.”
Asked about a rejected call by Indonesian football authorities for Kuwaiti referee Ahmad Al-Ali to be replaced with a neutral official, over concerns that refs from the region might be biased, Kluivert said: “I am here … to talk about the technical stuff, not anything else. It is not my business.”
Six teams are competing for the two remaining automatic World Cup qualification spots. They are split into two groups, with Iraq joining the Saudis and Indonesia in Group B, and Qatar, the UAE and Oman in Group A. The teams in each group will play each other once, with both group winners booking their places at the 2026 World Cup. The second-place teams will then face off over two legs, with the winner advancing to an inter-confederation play-off.
Coach Herve Renard confident in Saudis’ ability to qualify for a 7th World Cup
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Coach Herve Renard confident in Saudis’ ability to qualify for a 7th World Cup
- ‘We’re on the right track, technically,’ the Frenchman says. ‘We have made good progress in our performance … and we must prove that on the field’
- Indonesia coach Patrick Kluivert unafraid to face the Green Falcons in Jeddah on Wednesday in the 4th round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup
Inter continue Scudetto march after Champions League humbling
- Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto
MILAN, Italy: Inter Milan bounced back from Champions League elimination with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Genoa which continued their march toward the Serie A title.
Federico Dimarco’s brilliant volley just after the half-hour mark and Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty were enough for Inter to extend their already huge lead over AC Milan at the top of the table to 13 points.
Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto.
Inter, whose fans unloaded a collection of anti-Milan chants in anticipation of the derby, have dropped just two points in 15 league matches and have been a cut above the rest in Italy’s top flight this season.
Their domestic dominance comes in stark contrast to the humiliating manner in which they were dumped out of the Champions League by Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat to the Norwegian minnows cast doubts over not just the quality of Cristian Chivu’s team but of Italian football as a whole.
There was plenty of quality in Dimarco’s opener however, the Italy full-back beautifully placing a first-time finish from a tight angle after exchanging passes with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Little else happened in a humdrum encounter until Alex Amorim handled a cross from Luis Henrique, whose shot had been tipped onto the post just moments before.
Calhanoglu calmly stroked home the spot-kick on his return to action following niggling muscle problems which have caused him issues since before Christmas, sealing the points for Inter.
Big Rom back
Romelu Lukaku kept Napoli on course for a Champions League spot with a last-gasp winner in the champions’ 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Verona, the Belgium forward’s first goal of the season.
Lukaku forced home Giovane’s cross to snatch the win for third-placed Napoli with the last kick of the game at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Napoli had looked like dropping points in northern Italy when Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro levelled Rasmus Hojlund’s early opener in the 65th minute.
But Lukaku, who only played his first game of the season in late January, gave Napoli a huge win with both Como and Atalanta pushing for a top-four placing.
“I was a dead player before coming here,” said Lukaku to DAZN.
“This season has been difficult, but we’ve got to aim high.”
Napoli’s title defense is all but over as they trail Inter by 14 points after an injury-ravaged season.
Napoli were missing key midfielders Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne and Andre-Frank Anguissa on Saturday, as well as captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Verona, under interim coach Paolo Sammarco following the sacking of Paolo Zanetti earlier this month, are 10 points from safety after a 12th straight match without a win.
Como, who face Inter in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals on Tuesday, strolled to 3-1 victory over strugglers Lecce to continue their push for a first-ever qualification for European football.
Cesc Fabregas’s team are two points behind Roma, in fourth and Juventus’ opponents on Sunday, and five behind Napoli.
Como are also two points ahead of sixth-placed Juve who face Roma trying to stay in touch with the Champions League places after being eliminated from Europe’s elite club competition by Galatasaray on Wednesday.
