Italian manager Roberto Mancini’s tenure as Saudi Arabia’s national team coach has come to an end, following a mutual agreement to terminate his contract.
Mancini, 59, took charge of the Saudi national team in August 2023, replacing Herve Renard. However, his time at the helm was marked by disappointment, particularly in the Asian Cup, where Saudi Arabia exited in the last 16 after losing to South Korea in a penalty shootout.
Saudi Arabia sits third in Group C of Asia’s third-round World Cup preliminaries with five points from four matches. They trail leaders Japan by five points and face an uphill battle to secure automatic qualification.
The Saudi national team handle on X posted: “the Saudi soccer federation’s Board of Directors and the national team coach, Italian Roberto Mancini reached a joint agreement on Thursday to end the contractual relationship.”
The top two teams in each group will automatically qualify for the World Cup, while third and fourth-placed teams will enter another round of preliminaries. The bottom two teams will be eliminated.
