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Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466
Roberto Mancini, coach of Saudi Arabia, looks on during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifier game against Bahrain at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, October 15, 2024. /CFP
Roberto Mancini has stepped down as the coach of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) announced on Thursday.
The two sides have reached a "joint agreement" for the 59-year-old Italian coach to leave after 14 months in charge, the Saudi Arabian football governing body said in a statement. His replacement "will be announced in the next few days after the finalization of the contract procedures."
Saudi Arabia have played 18 games under Mancini with seven wins, five draws and six losses, scoring 26 goals and allowing 22. They struggled on the third stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifying tournament with only one win in four games.
Saudi Arabia were also eliminated early from the AFC Asian Cup in the round of 16 at the beginning of this year. Mancini walked down the tunnel before South Korea took their final kick during penalty shootout. He was under a lot of criticism for the act and apologized later.
Earlier this month, Mancini expressed his concerns over the impact on home players of the Saudi Pro League clubs’ heavy investments in acquiring foreign players in recent years.
"I've said this many times," he said at a press conference. "This is the only problem that we have, because three years ago all the Saudi players played every game. Today? 50, 60 per cent don't play in the game."
Saudi Arabia will challenge Australia on the road in November in their next World Cup AFC qualifier game. They are currently in the third place in Group C, outside the automatic qualification spots.