Saudi 360 – French Herve Renard, former coach of the Saudi national team, enters the circle of…

Football Federation Australia officials are looking to sign a replacement coach ahead of the national team’s next two matches in October, in the third stage of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

Football Federation Australia president James Johnson has rejected the idea of ​​appointing an interim coach despite the tight time frame ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

According to the newspaper “Asharq Al-Awsat”, the Frenchman Herve Renard is one of the most prominent candidates to coach Australia, in addition to the national coach Tony Popovic, who won the AFC Champions League title with Western Sydney Wanderers in 2014.

Renard is a foreign alternative in the calculations of the Australian Federation, especially since he is not affiliated with any team at the present time since his departure from coaching the French women’s national team after the end of the Olympic Games.

Australia is in Group 3 of the final round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, alongside Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, Bahrain and Indonesia.

Herve Renard previously led Saudi national team From July 2019 to March 2023, when he left to coach the French women’s national team.

Renard led the Saudi national team in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and achieved an unforgettable victory over Argentina in the group stage.

Saudi media recently claimed that there were contacts from the Football Association with Renard to return to lead the Green Falcons again in the next stage instead of Italian coach Roberto Mancini.