Hervé Renard, the head coach of the Saudi national team, spoke about his team's exit from the Gold Cup in the quarter-finals after losing to Mexico, 2-0, this Sunday morning.

Renard said during the press conference: "I congratulate the Mexican team on their qualification; they deserved to win the match. It has been a long period for us, all the team members together for a month, we gained a lot of experience in this tournament because I have already explained that it is a different type of football than what exists in Asia."

He added: "Some players gained more international experience, like Mohammed Bakr, and he has to work hard to be in the starting lineup. He has the talent and a bright future, and that’s what we are looking for."

He continued: "A good experience, if I am not mistaken, this is the first time a team from the Asian Football Confederation reaches the quarter-finals. Mexico was not the better team; we pressed a lot and played very quickly."

He elaborated: "We need to be better in this tournament; I think the timing was not right now because of the FIFA Club World Cup. I believe all teams were missing key players."

When asked about the change in performance in the coming months, he said: "Yes, it will be different. We have more players, and Asian football is completely different, so we will be ready for October, and I am confident in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup."