Reynard: We’re going to face a strong team and we have to play aggressively

Hervé Renard, the coach of our national team, thanked HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for his words of encouragement to the players when he met them in Jeddah, stressing that it was great to hear those words from the Leader before the start of the World Cup. At yesterday’s press conference, Renard expressed his satisfaction with participating in the World Championships and said: “We have worked hard and tried our best to participate in the tournament, and we know that this is a wonderful and amazing competition, and we have enough activity and motivation, indicating that Salman Al-Faraj is ready for matches and training as usual. “We’re not on a picnic, we’re here to do our best and make the Saudis proud of our team,” Renard added. “We have to do well and we have no other choice.” According to Renard, there is no crisis for the goalkeeper: Mohammed Al-Owais played 17 out of 18 qualifying matches and performed at his best, and the team as a whole showed excellent results. We have an upbeat team. He added: “Our preparation lasted a month, and some players participated in the 2018 World Cup in Russia and they have experience, and the most important thing today is concentration, because you can play a good match and lose, especially since we have to face a very strong team.” “We are at the highest level and have high skills and we will start the match strong. We must be strong and ferocious,” Renard added. He explained that it is not possible to compare Argentina, whose players play the most in Europe, and Saudi Arabia, whose stars all play in the Kingdom. And he added: “We should not think about the next matches. We must focus on tomorrow’s meeting. We didn’t come to Doha for tourism. We are well acquainted with Qatar and love this country, and therefore we are happy. be here.” He explained: “If we are considered the weakest team, then this is not justified. You should look at the FIFA classification. We are in the forefront of contenders for the next rounds.” And he stressed that he does not select players for the national team according to their club, explaining that in Egypt, for example, in previous periods there were not so many professionals, but now the situation is different, and Saudi footballers must professionalize at a young age if they want to have experience.