Former Nam Dinh coach leaves Saudi Arabia national team ahead of 2026 World Cup

Former Nam Dinh Club coach Herve Renard, who won AFCON with the Zambia and Ivory Coast national teams, has left the "hot seat" at the Saudi Arabia national team despite having just helped the team qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Page Aljazeera reported that Herve Renard, who returned to lead the Saudi Arabia national team for his second tenure in 2024, was dismissed just before the FIFA World Cup 2026. Herve Renard once signed a contract to coach Nam Dinh Club in 2004 but left the club after a few months.

"Herve Renard has officially been dismissed, with less than two months remaining until the FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off in North America. This 57-year-old manager returned to lead Saudi Arabia at the end of 2024, after previously guiding the team to the previous World Cup in Qatar," the Aljazeera page reported.

"Football is like that... Saudi Arabia has qualified for the World Cup finals seven times, including twice under my leadership," Renard shared with AFP on Friday. "And only one coach has led them throughout both the qualification campaign and the finals; that was me, in 2022. At least I still hold that pride," the French coach affirmed.

Herve Renard, who twice won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with Zambia and Ivory Coast, led Saudi Arabia from 2019 to 2023 before being replaced by Italian coach Roberto Mancini.

During the 2023-2024 period, he served as head coach of the French women's national team and reached the quarter-finals of both the 2023 Women's World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The French coach was subsequently invited by Saudi Arabia to return and succeed Mancini, after the Italian strategist departed due to a series of unimpressive results during his 14-month tenure.

There is information suggesting that former Greek player Georgios Donis is the leading candidate to replace Renard. A source close to the negotiations revealed to AFP that discussions are underway between the federation and Saudi club Al Khaleej, where Donis has been coaching since 2024.

At the 2026 World Cup, Saudi Arabia is in Group H alongside the Spain national team, Uruguay, and the debutant Cape Verde. All their group stage matches are scheduled to take place in the United States.

The Saudi Arabia national team has participated in the World Cup six times, with their best achievement so far being reaching the round of 16 at the tournament held in 1994, also hosted in the United States.

At the most recent World Cup in 2022, the Saudi Arabia national team stopped at the group stage but created a global shock by defeating the eventual champion Argentina with a 2-1 score.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia has also been designated as the host country for the 2034 World Cup.