Herve Renard has emerged as a serious candidate to become the new Saudi Arabia men’s head coach.
The 56-year-old has been identified as a potential successor for Roberto Mancini, who left his position by “joint agreement” on Thursday after 14 months in charge.
While no agreement has been reached, a process is ongoing to recruit a new head coach, with three candidates in contention. Renard is leading the way as a potential option and should he be offered the position, it will be the second time he has managed the Saudi Arabia national team.
Renard previously coached Saudi Arabia between 2019 and 2023, guiding them to the 2022 World Cup and a famous 2-1 victory over Argentina — who went on to win the tournament.
Saudi Arabia exited at the group stages with defeats to Poland and Mexico. Renard subsequently left his position the following year to coach the women’s French national team.
Renard took France to the quarter-final stage of the 2023 World Cup before being eliminated on penalties by host nation Australia.
He stepped down from his role after the a quarter-final defeat to Brazil in the 2024 Summer Olympics, being succeeded by assistant Laurent Bonadei.
Renard has enjoyed a two-decade long managerial career with international stints in charge of Zambia, Angola, Ivory Coast and Morocco, alongside spells in charge of French clubs Sochaux and Lille.
Mancini, meanwhile, was appointed as Saudi Arabia’s head coach on a four-year contract in August 2023 following his resignation as manager of the Italian national team.
However, he won just one of his last five matches in charge and the nation are currently third in Group C of the third round of Asia’s qualification process for the 2026 World Cup.
The top two sides from the six-team group will automatically qualify for the finals, which will be played across the U.S., Mexico and Canada, while the third and fourth-placed teams will advance through to the next round of qualification.
Saudi Arabia will host the World Cup for the first time in 2034, with the nation’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) also investing heavily in club football.
PIF funded a takeover of Premier League club Newcastle United in 2021 and has subsequently invested in domestic Saudi Arabian clubs, including Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ittihad.
Players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Neymar, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are among those who are playing their club football in Saudi Arabia.
(Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
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