Mancini plays down Saudi Arabia's chances
Saudi Arabia coach Roberto Mancini played down his side’s chances of winning the Asian Cup after they booked their place in the Round of 16 with a 2-0 win over Kyrgyzstan on Sunday.
“We had a lot of chances to score, yet the only problems we faced were when we were 11 v 9. We missed a lot of chances, but in the end, it was a good result,” said Mancini.
“I think Kyrgyzstan were a good team, but they were playing with ten players then nine players, so it was difficult for them. I would have preferred to play 11v11. Yes, we missed many chances to score, but if we score two goals in every game, I’ll be happy.”
“We have to look at the [FIFA] rankings, and the rank
ings say Japan, IR Iran, South Korea and Australia are the top four teams in Asia. We are too far behind them. In this tournament anything can happen when you play well. We won two games and now we have to think about the next game.
“We know we have a good team; we can do well during this tournament and every game we play we want to win whether it is against Thailand or against South Korea or Iran or any other team.”
Despite the loss, Kyrgyzstan coach Stefan Tarkovic was pleased with his side’s display on Sunday, insisting the process of development in Kyrgyz football is not a short term one.
“To play against Saudi Arabia with two men less is difficult,” said Tarkovic. “After the second red card, it was a question of how many scoring opportunities they will create and how we will challenge those situations. We showed spirit, we fought for the best result we could bring to the country and to the team till the end.”