Saudi Gazette report

DOHA — Saudi Arabia’s Coach Herve Renard reaffirmed the Green Falcons’ undying fighting spirit to compete in the FIFA World Cup game in Qatar until the last second, despite a 2-0 loss to Poland on Saturday.

“We are not done yet; do not forget that,” he reiterated.

Saudi Arabia played a strong match, but paid the heavy price for not taking advantage of the good chances, most notably missing a penalty kick by Salem Al-Dawsari before the half time.

Reacting to his smile despite the defeat, Renard said in statements after the match: “I am not just smiling. I am proud of my team and what we have achieved.”

He continued: “We should have secured an equalizer before the end of the first half. We have exerted great efforts and the team launched great attacks, but the most important thing is that we are still standing here, and don’t think that we are finished.”

“We are not finished yet. We will continue to fight until the last second in the World Cup,” he said.

About his ambition to beat Mexico in the last round, despite the absence of prominent players such as Captain Salman Al-Faraj, defenders Yasser Al-Shahrani and Riyadh Sharahili, who were injured, along with Abdulelah Al-Maliki, who was suspended, Renard replied: “We have a good squad and I confirm that we are not finished yet. Don’t forget that,” he added.