Tribune News Network
Kuwait City
Saudi Arabia’s French coach Herve Renard has told his under-performing superstars that it it’s “time to wake up” and labelled his side as “average” after losing their opening 26th Arabian Gulf Cup match to Bahrain on Saturday.
Renard has 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 night’s match with Yemen at the Jaber Al Mubarak International Stadium.
“The first round has three games, and the most important is to be in the first or second position in the group, at the end of them,” said Renard, who also addressed the club v 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.
“Maybe we are thinking we are very beautiful and very fantastic players but we are not currently. We are only an average team. So, all of us, we have to look at the situation and to do what we have to do. Starting with defending very well is most important.”
The Saudi Arabia fans are again expected to travel in large numbers to Kuwait for the second match, despite the criticism at home about recent performances, and Renard had a strong message for them.
“We must never give up,” he said. “We are still two games to reach the semi-final. This is our goal and we’ll think about the World Cup qualifiers later. At the moment we still have two chances and I can understand the disappointment from fans. It is normal when you lose. But they need to know I am doing my best to put this team in the right way. Not easy but this is football.
“We are not at the level that people are expecting and I have confidence in the players to change things. “In 2019, we lost the first game and reached the final so football is like this. Not one team here is above everybody. We still have the chance to win this. Football can change quickly.”
Wednesday’s match is the first of two of the night, and kicks off at 5.25pm, with the second clash being between Bahrain and Iraq kicking at 8.30pm.
