In the third round of World Cup group matches on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia lost to Mexico 1-2, according to Coach Hervé Renard, because the Green Falcons failed to demonstrate the level they needed to win and qualify for the knockout round of the tournament.

In his press conference after the match, the coach praised Mohammed Al-Owais, the goalkeeper, for saving the team from a heavy defeat.

Renard commended the national team for its efforts during the World Cup, indicating that the team almost achieved what it achieved in 1994. We will prepare the national team for the Asian Cup finals, which will be played after a year, and then for World Cup qualifiers.

Saudi Arabia finished fourth with 3 points after losing to Mexico in Group C.

Renard said: “I tried to do my best by encouraging the players, but what happened against Mexico was that it seemed to be difficult for them to play quickly and ferociously but Mohammed Al-Owais saved us from a miserable result.”

As a result of a large number of players being absent, our performance has been lower than during the matches against Argentina and Poland. As a result of injuries, we had to adapt to the situation, and in front of Mexico, we didn't play well except in the last few minutes," he added.