After his departure from the French women’s team at the end of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Hervé Renard began a second mandate as coach of Saudi Arabia. And as in 2022, the 57-year-old French technician managed to qualify the Green Falcons for the 2026 World Cup.
To prepare for this deadline, the Gulf selection had two friendly matches scheduled during this November international window. The Saudis started with a success against Ivory Coast (1-0), before losing to Algeria on Tuesday (0-2). Algeria, a nation that Hervé Renard could have coached.
On the sidelines of this confrontation against the Fennecs, the former coach of the Bleues made some confidences. The Frenchman assured that he wanted to return to coach in Africa one day, before revealing that he had been contacted by the Algerian federation in the past.
Renard: “There have been discussions with Algeria in the past”
“One day I will return to Africa. There have been discussions with Algeria in the past, but today they have an excellent coach », Confided Hervé Renard to the media, suggesting that the door was not closed in the future.
After the departure of Djamel Belmadi in January 2024, the name of Hervé Renard was circulated to take over Riyad Mahrez and his partners. This ultimately did not happen, the former Losc coach already being involved with the French women’s team. Algeria then decided to bet on Vladimir Petkovic.
