Time To Wake Up, Coach Renard Tells Saudi Arabia Ahead Of Yemen Clash
Date
12/25/2024 3:02:31 AM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
The Peninsula
Doha: Saudi Arabia head coach Herve Renard warned his underperforming team that it is“time to wake up” and labelled his side as“average” after losing their Arabian Gulf Cup opener against Bahrain.
The Saudis take on Yemen in their second Group B match today, at the Jabar Al Mubarak International Stadium.
Renard recently returned to the post after a disappointing run of World Cup qualifying results, and the latest 3-2 defeat brought more criticism to the players, with some believing they are more concerned with their club than country.
The experienced tactician accepted responsibility following Saturday's defeat, and conceded that he has a lot of work to do if Saudi are to qualify for the semi-finals, starting with tomorrow's match.
“The first round is three games, and the most important is to be in the first or second position at the end of them,” said Renard, who addressed the club vs country claim.
“In the national team you are not playing with eight foreign players like at the club. You are playing for Saudi Arabia, the country, and since a few months we are not ourselves. It is time to
"wake up. Time to look at the mirror," he added.
Meanwhile, Yemen's head coach said his team will be out to upset the Arabian football heavyweights today.
Yemen lost 1-0 to Iraq in their opening Group B game, but World Cup finalists Saudi Arabia fell 3-2 to Bahrain in their opener, meaning that tomorrow night's encounter is a must-win for both sides in their bid to qualify in the top two.
“Beware of the wounded beast,” said Noureddine Ould Ali.
“Saudi Arabia are a very respected team but are passing through some hard circumstances currently.”
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