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Al Jazeera’s journalist Hamza Mohamed shared with Vn88 mobile that ambition and confidence helped Saudi Arabia create a shock at the 2022 World Cup.
Coach Herve Renard said that the victory over Argentina will go down in the history of Saudi football as one of the most memorable milestones. Mohamed agrees with this view but also believes that Saudi Arabian football is ready for the next historic milestone. The Saudi journalist affirmed that the country’s football industry has enough conditions to go further.
Confidence is the key
– Reporter: Is Saudi Arabia’s victory over Argentina one of the most unbelievable results in World Cup history?
Hamza Mohamed of Vn88.cx: In a sense, perhaps. If we look at the FIFA rankings, the difference between the two football backgrounds is quite large. Before the tournament, Saudi Arabia ranked 51st in the world, second from the bottom among the teams participating in the 2022 World Cup. Argentina ranked third in the world and was a candidate for the championship.
Most of the Asian pundits and former players I spoke to even rate Argentina higher than many European teams like Germany or England. But that’s football. In fact, miracles only come when you are ready and believe in your ability. Coach Renard’s team shows that. They play with a forward formation and are not afraid to attack Argentina when the opportunity arises.
It is clear that Saudi Arabia’s high defense in the last match is a double-edged sword. If the Argentine players were more cunning in their moves, Saudi Arabia could have lost in the first half?
– VN88 newspaper added: This is the intention of coach Renard. His team has been playing like that for the past few years. They raise the squad, press the opponent early and are ready to coordinate short to close to the opponent’s penalty area. Saudi Arabia was not afraid even when conceding a goal early in the first half. Many other weak teams will play clustered against Argentina. But Saudi Arabia is not like that.
I think that’s one of the important factors that helped them create the earthquake. If you do not dare to attack, you will never be able to score 2 goals against Argentina.
If we look back at Saudi Arabia’s performance in the third qualifying round of the 2022 Asian World Cup, coach Renard and the game students are really impressive. Is that the basis for this success? This is the personal opinion of journalist Saul with Vn88 mobile.
– Yes. In my opinion, coach Renard is an excellent strategist of national football. One could say he was not successful at club level but when he was in charge of Zambia or Morocco, he left a strong impression.
– In Vietnam, people often recall that Renard was fired by a V.League club in 2004?
Vn88cx newspaper recalled that he was fired in Vietnam nearly two decades ago. I think any coach can be in this situation at the beginning of his career. In the past 10 years, Renard has won the CAN Cup twice with two different teams (Zambia and Ivory Coast).
No coach in history has done that. When he led Morocco, he also left an impression at the 2018 World Cup. World football is big and sometimes a coach is not famous in your eyes does not mean he is not good.
After the match, coach Renard said that Argentina is still a candidate for the championship and they will pass the group stage of the World Cup? Can Saudi Arabia join Argentina in the round of 16?
– Coach Renard had a quick launch with Vn88.cx: It is difficult to say. We all saw how well Poland and Mexico played in the following match. Saudi Arabia is holding the advantage in the group, but they must not lose to Poland and Mexico in the last two series. Things are not simple because these two teams are still appreciated and have many excellent individuals.
Before the match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia, I read that Messi will be the ambassador for Saudi Arabia in winning the right to host the World Cup. Saudi Arabian football has big plans?
– Vn88 sport shared the coach’s information about his team: That project is called “Vision 2030”. Saudi Arabia’s football wants to be at the top of Asia before 2025. Then by the 2030 World Cup, the tournament that Saudi Arabia wants to win the right to host, the national team can reach the top 20 in the world. The plan also includes owning a top European club.
Newcastle United’s handover to the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) in September 2021 shows this. The Saudi Arabian National League recently also wanted to reform and follow the Premier League model.
