Saudi Arabia coach Roberto Mancini stands by young players despite doubts

• Mancini defends youth focus despite Saudi criticism.
• Saudi Arabia win secures round of 16 spot in Asian Cup.
• Coach: Young players key to future success.

Roberto Mancini, the coach of Saudi Arabia, has come under fire for the players he chose for his squad at the Asian Cup, but on Wednesday he reaffirmed that it is his philosophy to incorporate young players so they may develop into veterans and help the team succeed.

Saudi Arabia dispatched nine-man Kyrgyzstan 2-1 in their group stage match to secure their place in the round of sixteen. Before their final game against Thailand, who are currently in second place, they lead Group F (four points).

But when Mancini claimed that three players had chosen to leave the camp—a claim that the players refuted—Saudi Arabia landed in Qatar under a cloud of uncertainty regarding their starting lineup.

Former Saudi captain Yasser Al-Qahtani branded Mancini a “coward” for benching players who he claimed had performed well for the national team in the past, and players from the team that famously defeated Argentina in the 2022 World Cup were not selected.

“My policy is that the players who are ready to play will play. I have 26 players. Some are famous, others are young, but if you win it’s as a team, not because of one player,” Mancini told reporters ahead of Thursday’s game.

“We need to have a strong team with a strong mentality. We need them to think they can win all games as a team together. I use players that I feel can be important now and for the future. We have a mix of some young players and senior players.

“In the next month we need to change and increase the number of young players for the future. For now we have to think about this tournament, which is very important for us.”

Former Saudi captain Yasser Al-Qahtani branded Mancini a “coward” for benching players who he claimed had performed well for the national team in the past, and players from the team that famously defeated Argentina in the 2022 World Cup were not selected.

“I’ve managed this team for four months. Sometimes it’s not enough, you need more time. But we’ve improved a lot in four months and we can improve in the future,” he said.

“Can we win? I don’t know, it’s a long road but we want to try.

“We had a lot of chances in the last game and didn’t score enough, we have to improve this. But it’s important we’re able to create chances. After that, probably we will score.”

Mancini refuted rumors that, after declaring Australia, Japan, Iran, and South Korea as the favorites last week, he declared Saudi Arabia had no chance.

“I only said there are four teams — Japan, Korea, Australia and Iran — who are very high in the rankings and they have more chances to win. But I never said we can’t win,” he said.

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