Italian Roberto Mancini, coach of the Saudi national football team, said today, Wednesday, that he has no problem with any player on the team and that the doors of the national team are open to everyone.
Tomorrow, Thursday, Saudi Arabia will host the Tajikistan national team in the third round of Group Seven in the second stage of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Mancini told a press conference today: “The players in the squad are the best and serve my artistic ideas, and some players did not join due to injuries. The opportunity is available to any player to represent the national team if his level qualifies him to join. There is no problem with any player and the national team’s doors are open to everyone.”
Mancini’s statements come in the wake of the crisis that struck the team before the last Asian Cup, after more than one player was excluded immediately before the start of the tournament, led by goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi, who stipulated that he participate as a starter in the tournament.
Salman Al-Faraj and Sultan Al-Ghannam were also absent from that squad, after the coach said at the time: “Salman refused to participate in the friendly matches, and Sultan Al-Ghannam told me that he was unhappy and that if he did not play, he would not join the team.”
As a result of these events, the Saudi Federation decided to suspend Al-Aqidi for 5 months and fine him 300,000 Saudi riyals.
The Federation also imposed a fine on Al-Faraj, the captain of the national team and Al-Hilal, amounting to 100,000 Saudi riyals, after it was proven that he did not want to join the national team after he was summoned to the camp that was held in October 2023 in Portugal.
Al-Ittihad fined Al-Ghannam, the Al-Nasr player, 200,000 Saudi riyals after it was proven that he asked the coach to exempt him from joining the national team camp before the Asian Cup.
Pictures from the press conference 📸 pic.twitter.com/HKYAlg2NeU
– Saudi National Team (@SaudiNT) March 20, 2024
Saudi Arabia bid farewell to the Asian Cup, which Qatar hosted at the beginning of this year, in the round of 16, after losing 4-2 to South Korea on penalty kicks after the original and extra time of the match ended in a 1-1 draw, while the Tajikistan national team reached the quarter-finals.
The Italian coach added: “This is our first match after the Asian Cup. We will face a strong team that has reached advanced stages in that tournament, and its players have good physical structure and advanced technical performance. It will not be an easy match.”
He continued: “In football, there is never an easy match. You must respect the opposing team and play at your best, and certainly our goal is to win.”
He said: “I said from the beginning of the qualifiers that our group was difficult, and there is no doubt that we were frustrated after the Asian Cup because we gave a performance that deserved to go far in the tournament, but I confirm that we have a good team and ready for the next stage.”
Saudi Arabia leads Group Seven with 6 points from two matches, two points ahead of Tajikistan, while the Jordanian national team occupies third place with one point and the Pakistan national team is at the bottom of the group standings with no points.
The first and second in each group out of 9 qualify for the third stage of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
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