Mess in the Saudi Arabia team. Roberto Mancini, current coach, confirmed in the press conference prior to the Asia Cup debut against Oman that three footballers, Al-Faraj, Al-Ghannam and Al-Aqidi, declined to be called upfor which he had to exclude them from his list.
“They are the ones who decided not to play for the national team, not me. Al-Faraj told me that he did not want to play friendlies and Al-Ghanem that he was not happy playing for the national team. And Al-Aqidi (who was included in the list for the Asia Cup) told the goalkeeping coach that if he didn’t play as a starter he didn’t want to stay.“Mancini confessed.
Al-Ghanam and Al-Aqidi asked to play as starters, but I am the coach and the one who makes the decisions
Roberto Mancini, Saudi Arabia coach
“Al-Ghanam and Al-Aqidi asked to play as starters, but I am the coach and the one who makes the decisions. We asked the three of them two or three times if they would like to play for the national team and the answer was no,” said the former Italy coach.
Unprecedented situation
The Italian coach was surprised. “I understand the desire of experienced players to play as starters, but not why a young footballer refuses to join the national team if he is not guaranteed a starting place. I want to include players who want to represent their country and I do not want to talk about the Al-Faraj, Al-Ghanem and Al-Aqidi file again“, Mancini sentence.
2024-01-15 12:43:01
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