A legendary beginning and a frustrating end for "The Green"... The public's confidence was not shaken in Renard
The Saudi public's confidence in coach Hervé Renard has not likely been shaken, despite criticism of him following the group stage exit of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Saudi Arabia began its career with a historic surprise by winning 2-1 over Argentina, but lost 2-0 after a struggle against Poland, while the end was frustrating with a modest performance in the 2-1 defeat by Mexico.
Saudi Arabia suffered from the absence of key players due to injuries, such as captain Salman Al-Faraj, Yasser Al-Shahrani and Muhammad Al-Buraik, along with Abdul-Ilah Al-Maliki, who were suspended in the last match, and Frenchman Renard admitted that goalkeeper Muhammad Al-Owais saved the team from a heavy defeat.
The criticism related to Renard changing the positions of some players and his options for the squad, and the lack of suitable substitutes due to the inclusion of some physically unprepared elements.
Journalist Hani Al-Bishr of the Saudi Al-Bilad newspaper said about the reasons for failure despite the dreamy start, "The many absences after the Poland match, we missed six key players against Mexico, and this greatly affected the team.
"I also hold Renard partly responsible for his wrong formation, which carries many question marks."
He explained, "Saud Abdel Hamid was transferred from the full-back position to the focal point. There were players more ready to fill this void, such as Abdullah Atif. If he was not ready, why did he include him in the list in the first place? And if he was ready, why did he not play?"
Saudi fan Faisal Yahya added, "Renard is an excellent coach, but he made a mistake in the squad. He put Ali Al-Bulayhi as a back and did not perform at his usual level. He also summoned players returning from injuries, and he relied mainly on the basic elements that were injured. It was better to include players who are physically ready."
No voices were raised by dispensing with Renard, who enjoys a strong relationship with the players, but rather found support for continuing to develop the national team with the need to learn from lessons in Qatar.
And Al-Bisher continued, "The level in general was honorable. Against Argentina, we showed the world the extent of the development of Saudi football, but in the World Cup you may lose in simple details. We conceded two goals from two set pieces against Mexico within five minutes."
He added, "Confidence in the national team or Renard has not been shaken. This is our best participation after four editions of the World Cup. Previous participations were very bad. This is the best level since 1994," when Saudi Arabia qualified for the round of sixteen.
He continued, "We have the Gulf Cup in a few weeks, then the Asian Cup. Regardless of the results, we are proud of the team and we hope it builds on this level."
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