World Cup 2026 qualifiers: Saudi players cannot live in past, warns coach Roberto Mancini
Veteran Italian coach says Saudi Arabia, hoping to play in their third straight finals, have ‘only one problem’ compared with past campaigns
Saudi Arabia coach Roberto Mancini has warned his players not to rest on their previous achievements as he seeks to reinvigorate his team’s challenge for an automatic berth at the 2026 World Cup.
Mancini saw his side slip to a 2-0 loss in Jeddah on Thursday against a Japan side that has dominated Asia’s third round of preliminaries to leave the Saudis playing catch-up in the race for World Cup qualification.
Saudi Arabia are looking to book a spot at a third consecutive World Cup – and seventh in total – with Mancini telling his players they cannot rely on past performances to confirm their passage to North America in two years’ time.
“We don’t live in the past – the important thing is to qualify regardless of the ranking,” said Mancini, who took over as the long-term replacement for Herve Renard in August 2023.
“Three years ago the situation was different. Maybe the players were playing more or were younger. We have to deal with the current situation.”
Under Renard, the Saudis notched up a famous 2-1 win over Argentina in the teams’ opening game of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the last defeat suffered by Lionel Scaloni’s side before going on to win the title with victory over France in the final.
