Hervé Renard, the coach of the Saudi national team, expressed the difficulty of the group in which his team was placed during the 2026 World Cup draw, emphasizing that facing the Spanish national team will be one of the toughest challenges of the tournament.

In his statements following the draw held in Washington, Renard said, "Saudi Arabia was drawn against the best team in the world: Spain," noting that it is very difficult to play against them. He added, "But at the same time, this is the World Cup, and tough matchups are to be expected."

Renard continued his speech, recalling his previous encounter with the Spanish national team at the 2018 Russia World Cup when he was the coach of Morocco, saying: "In 2018, they were a great team, and today they seem even better than before, so it will be an exceptional but very tough match."

Regarding Lamine Yamal, Renard said that the player is an exceptional talent, adding that the Barcelona winger is among the top three players in the world, alongside Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé. He continued, "They represent the new generation that will succeed the Messi and Ronaldo era," before emphasizing that the most impressive aspect is Spain's teamwork.

Renard pointed to the Saudi national team's goal in the tournament, saying: "Our goal is to reach the Round of 16, which we were unable to achieve in 2022 despite our excellent start against Argentina."

He continued, recalling his previous participation with the Green Falcons in the Qatar World Cup, saying: "We achieved a big surprise by beating Argentina 2-1, but history does not repeat itself, always in the same way."

Renard also spoke about the other teams in the group, saying: "The Cape Verde team will strive to showcase its great potential in its first participation in the World Cup."

He added: "Uruguay is also a tough team and has a great coach. They always play good football, and he is a coach known for his strictness."