Saudi Arabia's coach is confident of an easy victory against Indonesia, securing a World Cup spot.

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - Coach Herve Renard confidently asserted that the home team Saudi Arabia will defeat Indonesia in the opening match of the 4th round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and secure a ticket to the finals.

"We will advance to the fourth round," said coach Herve Renard ahead of the match between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia in the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, taking place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium early tomorrow morning (00:15 on October 9th, Vietnam time).

The French strategist had previously helped Saudi Arabia qualify for the 2022 World Cup as early as the third round of Asian qualifiers, but later moved on to manage the French women's national team.

Coach Herve Renard is optimistic about Saudi Arabia's chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup (Photo: Getty).

In October 2024, Renard was invited back to coach Saudi Arabia, replacing Roberto Mancini. However, the Saudi Arabian team did not repeat their success from four years prior, instead having to compete in the fourth qualifying round for a spot in the North American finals the following year against Indonesia and Iraq.

“Technically, we are on the right track. We had a training camp in Europe during the recent break. But tomorrow is a different match and everyone is hoping to qualify for the World Cup. I believe that we will give more than 100% effort to qualify for the World Cup.”

I came here a year ago with the goal of securing direct qualification, but that didn't happen because we needed to improve in many areas. We've made good progress since the Gulf Cup, and we have to prove that on the pitch because the truth always comes out on the pitch," said coach Renard.

Saudi Arabia aims to defeat Indonesia in an effort to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals (Photo: Getty).

The French strategist also confirmed that nearly half of the squad has changed since the last encounter with Indonesia, demonstrating his commitment to making the Saudi Arabian national team even stronger.

"We've made technical progress, and tomorrow we'll see if we've developed enough," Renard affirmed.

When asked about the absence of key players from the Indonesian squad, the 57-year-old coach emphasized: "We are focusing on ourselves and what we need to do this week. Let's play first, and then we'll talk about that later."

Notably, Saudi defender Nawaf Boushal also expressed similar optimism, stating: "We are ready for the match. With the support of the fans, we want to win all three points."

In the fourth qualifying round, six teams compete for two direct qualification spots for the World Cup finals in North America next year. Saudi Arabia is in Group B along with Indonesia and Iraq, while Qatar, UAE, and Oman are in Group A.

Teams in each group will play each other once, and the group winner will secure a spot in the 2026 World Cup. The second-placed teams will then face each other in two matches, with the winner advancing to the intercontinental play-offs.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-saudi-arabia-tu-tin-thang-de-dang-indonesia-gianh-ve-du-world-cup-20251008123332294.htm