A year ago
Herv Renard, the coach of Saudi Arabia, felt bad for his mother after Poland defeated his team on Saturday at the World Cup.
Because her parents were Polish, the French coach remarked before the game that it would be "extremely special for her, but she will wear her Saudi national shirt. Do not fret.
First World Cup for Renard's mother, who witnessed one of the biggest upsets when his team overcame Argentina 2-1 in the tournament's first game at Lusail Stadium.
Renard guessed that she might watch two or three games each week. She loves football, so it goes without saying that she was thrilled.
Robert Lewandowski scored one goal and assisted on another as Poland defeated the United States 2-0 on Saturday, preventing a repeat shock.
Renard predicted that "she won't be pleased with me this evening." She must be very sad, I'm sure. But I'll remind her that you constantly tell me to "never give up." Work hard and the opportunity will present itself again.
Despite losing to Poland, Saudi Arabia still has a chance to go to the second round.
Renard declared, "Like I mentioned earlier, we are still alive.
Since taking over the Saudi Arabia team in 2019, Renard, 54, has had great success, and his popularity has only increased as a result of the victory over Argentina.
After his press conference on Friday, Renard was surrounded by fans as local media waited in line to take photographs with him. The dapper Frenchman displayed a big smile and spotless teeth for the photographs and didn't seem in a rush to depart.
Renard has achieved enormous success on a global scale. In 2012, he unexpectedly led Zambia to its first-ever Africa Cup of Nations victory. Three years later, he accomplished the same feat with Ivory Coast.
The ex-coach of Lille and Sochaux was instrumental in Morocco's World Cup qualification. For the first time in 20 years, Morocco made it to the competition. However, his team only earned one point out of three games during the group stage, losing 1-0 to Portugal and Iran before drawing 2-2 with Spain.
Already better than the last World Cup.
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia had twice as many shots on goal against Poland as Poland did. Wojciech Szczesny, Poland's goalkeeper, helped his team by saving a penalty and making several other crucial stops.
"We did not lose today's game due to bad luck. Because of our ineffectiveness, we lost the game to them, said Renard, who lauded Szczesny. "He performed his duties admirably. But today nobody found him, huh? He is an excellent goalkeeper.
Renard is proud of the performances his team has made in their two World Cup games thus far.
He claimed that few people believed Saudi Arabia was capable of playing this kind of football. "This is the cause of my pride in them," she said.
Renard spoke of the raucous support the Green Falcons received at Education City Stadium, where the fervent Saudi fans made the match feel like a home game. He expressed hope for more of the same for the final group game against Mexico on November 30 at Lusail, where his team defeated Argentina.
Regarding the supporters, Renard remarked, "I hope they won't give up. "Because when you are a fan, you need to support your team on a great day, but you also need to support your team to make history during the third game," the author explains.
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