While there is no French coach in the running at the Club World Cup who started on Saturday evening with Inter Miami-Al Ahly (final on Sunday July 13 in New York), two tricolor compatriots compete at the Gold Cup: Hervé Renard and Sébastien Migné. The Concacaf tournament (the Confederation of North America, Central America and the Caribbean) also launched itself on Saturday in the United States with a meeting between Mexico and the Dominican Republic at the Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles (final on July 6 in Houston).
The Saudi Arabia of Hervé Renard is launching its competition this Sunday evening in San Diego (2:15 a.m. in the night in France) against a selection of Haiti therefore led by Sébastien Migné, former assistant of Jean-Pierre Papin and Claude Le Roy then coach of the two Congo, Kenya and Equatorial Guinea. The Saudis will chain against the United States team on 19, and Trinidad and Tobago, on the 22nd, for a place in the quarterfinals.
After Qatar in the last two editions, Saudi Arabia was invited for this 2025 edition of the Gold Cup. South Africa, Ecuador, South Korea, Peru, Colombia and Brazil were once invited to the continental meeting. The Seleçao lost in the final in 1996 and 2003 and therefore no guest has ever won this tournament.
A first title for Hervé Renard?
Double winner of the African Cup of Nations (with Zambia in 2009 and Côte d'Ivoire in 2015), Hervé Renard will try to win its first title with Saudi Arabia. He lost to the Gulf Cup final in 2019. The white shirt coach also hopes to relaunch his team that he missed the qualification for the 2026 World Cup during the 3rd round in Asia, ending behind Japan and Australia. The Saudis will play the fourth round with two other assigned tickets.
Mexico faces Costa Rica and Surinam in addition to the Dominicans in group A, Jonathan David Canada finds Honduras, Salvador and Curaçao in Pool B and Panama, Jamaica, Guatemala and Guadeloupe will cross iron in C.
