Mancini looking for Saudi Arabia fixes against Nigeria as big games loom

There are plenty connections between Saudi Arabia and Portugal in terms of high-profile players and coaches in the Roshn Saudi League and national team coach Roberto Mancini will need a little Portuguese inspiration on Friday.

The Green Falcons have World Cup qualifiers and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in the coming weeks and months and the friendly against Nigeria in the Algarve is a great chance to assess the current state of the West Asian powerhouse.

While there are big competitive games to come, the Italian, appointed in August to replace Herve Renard, would love to get a good result even as he will appreciate the tough test that Nigeria will provide.

If January’s Gulf Cup in Iraq is taken out of the equation — as Saudi Arabia fielded a young team and Renard did not travel — then there have been six straight defeats since that win over Argentina at the World Cup. Even if that regional tournament is included, it is still eight losses from nine with only Yemen failing to take victory.

The last four defeats have all come in friendlies. The first two were at the hands of Venezuela and Bolivia in March, after which Renard left, and then there were losses to Costa Rica and South Korea in September in Newcastle, Mancini’s first two games.

The man who led Italy to the 2020 European Championship knew when he arrived in Riyadh that he had little time to work with the team before the start of World Cup qualification in November and then the Asian Cup in January.

That does not mean that there is immediate pressure on the former Manchester City manager who has only just arrived, and understandably needs time to make a difference, but a change of result and narrative would be welcome for him, the fans, players and the media.

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