Nawaf al -aqidi, the goalkeeper of the National Team Saudi, said the difficulty of facing Japan Tuesday in Asian qualifications for the 2026 World Cup, while wanting that his country will help to achieve a positive result, which is what he is currently thinking, stressing that he will work to demonstrate his worthy of protecting the green goal.
Al -aqidi said during the press conference: “It is difficult not to play for a long time, so it was important to move to get more minutes of play and trust,” said Al -haqidi during the press conference.
He continued: “I am always ready for these games and help the team with what I can and I hope to help them in Tuesday’s match, God arranged”.
For his part, the French coach, Renard, said his team is ready for the Japan match.
Renard stressed that injuries are part of football, adding that playing in Ramadan’s month is not an easy thing “, and the player must adapt and be ready, because we know that we have to make a double effort in the game tomorrow”.
“We will face the best team in Asia, so the opportunities must be used, above all because we were not active in translating opportunities in the last game against China”.
The French coach invited Al -akhdar players to present a strong game against Japan and play in full combat and readiness, adding: “We believe in our luck in qualifying, and this is our weapon in the game”.
As for the state of the team after the injuries to some players, such as Hassan Kadash and Saud Abdel Hamid, who will be absent from the game, Renard said: “Accidents are part of football, the game during Ramadan’s month is not easy and the player must adapt and be ready and we know that we have to make a double effort in the game.”
As for the Japan guarantee to qualify for the World Cup, Renard stressed: “There are still 3 games, with Japan, Bahrain and Australia, the points of these games are important, since the competition is serious for second place, and we must compete strong
Renard commented on Japan who aims at the World Cup in the future, saying: “There is no doubt that the Japanese team is a good team, and it is natural that their ambition is high and winning the World Cup is a great ambition and can be achieved in the future, because they have a high quality of the players”.
To the question about the reasons for the decline in the performance of the Saudi national team compared to the one he presented 3 years ago, the French coach said: “There is no doubt that the situation 3 years ago is different from now, but this is the case of football and you have to adapt as a team and compete and obtain the second card, regardless of the qualifying difficulty, the most important is the qualification.”
For his part, Wattaro Weand, player of the Japanese national team, underlined that the qualifications for the World Cup are only a new beginning starting from facing Saudi Arabia.
“We have a strong desire to win our fans, so we want to do our best to get the victory again for everyone.”
He added: «I have the impression that the players of the Saudi national team have great skills and like a team that can fight in different ways, but all, including me, we played against each other and there are many players that we know well and I want to do my best to get the three points.
The Japanese coach of the national football team, Hagimi Moriasu, confirmed that the clash of his team against the Saudi national team is a difficult challenge for his players.
“It doesn’t matter if it is an official or friendly match, let’s mix to win the clash.”
As for the Saudi national team that places the qualifications of the World Cup, Moriasu said: “The Saudi team is in a difficult battle on the fact that it can go directly to the World Cup or not and, since it is a game in our stadium, my desire is strong to win more than the opponent”.
He said: «The Saudi national team has a high potential and history in Asia. They also have a technical power to move the ball and players such as Salem al -Dossary are distinguished from the individual side, I think we must be vigilant from this phase and the organizational force, including the characteristics of the team, is a very difficult battle. “
As for if it will participate in the initial formation during the game, he said: “In the Saudi game it will be a change in the team, at least, there are two players who will be absent because they were injured in the last Bahrain match, so I would undoubtedly change, including two or more players, and will decide the final decision of the game of the game after the latest formation.”
Moriasu concluded his speech by saying that his team will do everything possible to win in the game, as well as wanting to play with the feeling of winning and sharing joy with the fans of the team.
