Oman boss Ivankovic: Renard’s departure could impact Saudi team at 2023 AFC Asian Cup

Oman boss Branko Ivankovic has been around the block in Asia and believes that the decision of Herve Renard to leave Saudi Arabia in March could spell trouble for the Green Falcons, in the short-term at least.

The Croatian is full of respect for the Frenchman after the two teams met twice in the final round of qualification for the 2022 World Cup. On May 11, Saudi Arabia and Oman were drawn together once more, this time in Group F of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup that will take place next January.

Ivankovic is looking forward to crossing swords with a team that defeated eventual champions Argentina in November at the World Cup. “They showed an excellent performance at the World Cup,” Ivankovic, who led Iran to the 2006 World Cup, told Arab News.

“They didn’t have the luck to get to the second stage as they missed a penalty kick and lost to Poland. Overall, they played well and have a strong league, good players and good coaches,” he said.

One of those was Renard, who took over the France women’s team ahead of this summer’s World Cup after four years in Riyadh. Ivankovic believes he will be missed.

“Herve Renard is an excellent coach and had excellent results at the African Cup of Nations, and then he did well with Morocco at the 2018 World Cup and then he did well with Saudi Arabia, the only team to beat Argentina,” he said.

“I don’t know why he went back to France but it could be a big problem. It could be a big problem to have a coach with no Asian knowledge just before the Asian Cup.”

Yasser Al-Misehal, president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, has said that an appointment will be made in June or July and Ivankovic knows that making the right decision is key.

“If they get a good coach with a good staff