The French coach, Irvi Renard, confirmed the readiness of Al -Khdar for the Japan match tomorrow (Tuesday), in Asian qualifications for the FIFA World Cup of 2026.
He 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 tomorrow’s game.
Renard spoke to the press conference held today (Monday) of the preparations of his team for the game, saying: “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 with fully combat and readiness, adding: “We believe in our luck in qualifying, and this is our weapon tomorrow”.
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 tomorrow’s 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, Nawaf al -aqidi, the Saudi goalkeeper, said the difficulty of facing Japan, hoping at the same time that he will help his country get a positive result, which is what he is currently thinking, stressing that he will work to demonstrate his value to protect the green goal.
He said, during the press conference: “It is difficult not to play for a long time, so it was important to move for several minutes of play and trust”.
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”.
The Saudi national team is third in the third group with 9 points, a point behind Australia, which has a runner (10 points), while the Japanese team is leading the command with 19 points and officially includes qualifying for the 2026 World Cup since the last round.
