Sports critic Khaled Al-Otaibi launched severe criticism against French coach Hervé Renard after he excluded defender Hassan Tambakti from the starting lineup of the Saudi national team in the crucial match against Australia in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

Al-Otaibi expressed his astonishment at Renard's justification, who explained his decision by stating his desire to protect Tambakti from receiving a yellow card that could prevent him from participating in the Asian playoff match, considering this justification "illogical".

In his statements during the program "Dourina Ghair", Al-Otaibi said that the French coach's statement gives the impression that the goal was to compete in the Asian playoff, rather than fighting for direct qualification to the World Cup.

He added that the Saudi national team had a genuine opportunity for direct qualification, and it was essential to approach the match with full strength, without thinking about future scenarios before resolving this stage.

He also confirmed that the Australian team is not strong enough to justify this caution, and that the problem was not the opponent, but rather the performance of the Saudi team, which lacked confidence and courage on the field.

He concluded his remarks by emphasizing that the coach's decisions in decisive matches should reflect a genuine desire for victory, rather than merely planning for future matches that have not yet been resolved.