The coach who made Argentina cry has been sacked

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup is less than two months away. At such a time, the football authorities of the country have decided to remove the coach of the Saudi Arabian national football team, Harvey Renard. Al Jazeera news

Renard took over as the coach of Saudi Arabia for the second time at the end of 2024. Before this, he was the coach of the team in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In the first match of that season, Saudi Arabia beat Lionel Messi’s mighty Argentina 2-1 under him, which was a major event on the World Cup stage. However, Argentina turned around and took home the World Cup.

In an interview given to AFP on April 17, Renard said that such incidents are normal in football. He proudly points out that Saudi Arabia has played in the World Cup seven times, twice under him. He is also the only coach to have led the team at both the qualifiers and the World Cup.

Renard previously won the Africa Cup of Nations with Zambia and Ivory Coast. He was the coach of Saudi Arabia from 2019 to 2023. He was replaced by Italy’s Roberto Mancini.

From 2023 to 2024, he served as the coach of the France women’s team and was able to lead the team to the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup and the Paris Olympics during that time.

Later Renard returned as the coach of Saudi Arabia as Mancini’s successor. But this time around his departure, the process of finding a new coach has started. According to European media, Greece’s Georgios Donis is being considered as a possible coach. Discussions are ongoing between the Saudi Football Federation and Al Khaleej Club, where Donis is currently the coach.

Saudi Arabia will play in Group H in the 2026 World Cup. Their opponents include former world champions Spain and Uruguay, and first-timers Cape Verde. All the group stage matches will be played in USA.