Riyadh (dpa)
Yasser Al-Meshal, President of the Saudi Football Federation, confirmed that Italian Roberto Mancini, the coach of the “Green” team, will remain in his position until the end of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The Saudi national team lost 0-2 to its guest, the Japanese national team, in the third round of the third group of the decisive stage of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup scheduled in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The Japanese national team, which has never missed a World Cup since the competition in 1998 in France, raised its score to 9 points, continuing to soar in the lead alone, achieving the “full mark” so far, after winning its first three matches.
On the other hand, the Saudi team, which suffered its first loss in the group, stopped at 4 points, falling to third place, trailing on goal difference from the Australian team, which is in second place, and equal with it on the same score.
Al-Meshal confirmed in an interview with the media, “Thank you to the fans who attended and supported the team, and we apologize to them. We performed well, but the result is undoubtedly painful, and we have 7 upcoming matches in which we will focus on achieving our goal, which is to qualify for the World Cup. We have closed the match file, and we are looking forward to what comes next.” .
He added, “We were not bad against Japan, and we have a problem scoring goals, and the coach realizes that, and you will see what pleases you. Just support us with your stance and constructive criticism.” The fourth round of group competitions is scheduled to be held next Tuesday, where Saudi Arabia will meet Bahrain in Jeddah, and Japan. With Australia in Saitama, and China with Indonesia in Qingdao.
The 18 teams participating in the decisive phase of the Asian World Cup qualifiers were divided into 3 groups, with 6 teams in each group.
The top two teams from each group qualify directly to the 2026 World Cup finals, while the two teams ranked third and fourth will move on to the fourth round to compete for two tickets to the World Cup and a ticket to the global playoff.
#Saudi #Arabia #announces #Mancini #remain #AlAkhdar