Herve Renard plots final squad preparations as Saudi Arabia gears for sixth World Cup

“It was a successful training camp,” said Yasser Al-Misehal, the head of the Saudi Arabia Football Federation on Thursday as the national team returned to Riyadh for a well-earned breather before plunging back into preparation for the World Cup.

Just how successful they will be remains to be seen when the tournament has been and gone. If the Green Falcons put on a good show in a tough group containing Argentina, Poland and Mexico, then all will point to the last few weeks in Abu Dhabi as a valuable part of the preparation for a sixth World Cup and an attempt to get into the knockout stage for the second time.

On the face of it, however, it did go well. At the basic level, there were no scandals or controversies that can happen when players get together before the World Cup, such as Roy Keane walking out of Ireland’s pre-2002 training camp. It was all nicely low-key. In the three weeks spent in the UAE, Saudi Arabia played five games against international opposition that provided, perhaps, a small European taste of Poland and Central American experiences that may help with Mexico. It started with a 1-0 draw with North Macedonia, then there was a 1-1 draw against Albania and a goalless stalemate with Honduras. It came to a close with a 1-0 victory over Iceland and a 1-1 tie with Panama on Thursday.

So, no defeats and, indeed, with the goalless draws against Ecuador and the US in September, that unbeaten run has stretched to seven games. The opposition may not have always been at full strength as most leagues around the world are still playing, but conceding just two goals in the five games, just two in the last seven in fact, demonstrates the fact that coach Herve Renard has been working hard to make his team harder to