Eight months after the disappointing elimination of the French female team in the quarterfinals of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games football tournament, Hervé Renard, who turned the tricolor page last summer, plays big at the head of Saudi Arabia. The white shirt coach returned to the head of the Falcons, after his previous reign from 2019 to 2023 marked by the incredible Saudi victory against Argentina at the start of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 in Canada, the United States and Mexico is still very far for the double winner of the African Cup. Saudi Arabia was not varnished during the draw for the playoffs since the 5th Asian nation in the FIFA ranking was found with two other heads of series better classified in group C, Japan and Australia. Worse, the Saudis stopped on the Bahrain (0-0), last October, before losing against Indonesia (2-0) in November. A victory Thursday in Riyadh against China (1-0, thanks to their number 10 Vedette Salem Al Dawsari) replaces them in 3rd place in the hen behind the blue samurai and the Socceroos.
Renard and his players must absolutely make a good result on Tuesday in Saitama (11:35 am in France), against the Japanese, who will celebrate their qualification for the North American World Cup acquired five days earlier with their success 2-0 against the Bahrain, thanks to goals from Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo. Saudi victory is imperative, since Australia, 2nd with one more point, defies China, the last of the group.
Hervé Renard: “The Japanese are disciplined”
“It's a difficult sprint for second placesaid Hervé Renard at a press conference on Monday. We know that the Japanese are disciplined, we know their philosophy, so there is no doubt that they will play this 100% match ”. Japanese coach Hajime Moriyasu announced that he would make some changes in his starting eleven. Kaoru Mitoma could be spared and Takumi Minamino could start on the bench, which would benefit Rémois Junya Ito and Keito Nakamura, who came into play last Thursday.
In playoffs in the Asia zone, the first two of the three groups are qualified for the World Cup, while the third and fourth will play a new lap to obtain the last two sesames. The Asian continent could then have a ninth representative since a selection will compete in the large intercontinental dam in March 2026 (without European nation), where two last tickets will be distributed.
