DOHA — Roberto Mancini, the Italian coach of the Saudi national team, clarified that he never stated the team was not a contender for the Asian Cup 2023 title. Instead, he referred to the presence of strong teams according to the rankings. During a press conference on Wednesday before Saudi Arabia's match against Thailand, Mancini said: "I never spoke about the Saudi national team not being a contender for the title. That was a fabrication. I spoke about the rankings and that the better-ranked teams are Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Iran." Regarding the inclusion of young players against Thailand after securing qualification, Mancini said, "We have young players, and we have important, prominent players. We plan to utilize many names in this tournament." Mancini spoke about the match, stating, "It will be a tough game; the opponent has been performing well." Concerning player Hassan Tambakti and whether there are injuries among the players, he said, "We will wait until tomorrow. We have some injury issues, but they are not major. We will decide on the day of the match who will participate." About the fitness tests he set for the players before the tournament and whether they have reached the ideal stage he aims for, and who is the best player in this regard, Mancini said, "Saud Abdulhamid is the best. Saud is indeed a distinctive player, and we are working well. If we want to win, we must focus in every training session on all aspects." Mancini also spoke about the Saudi national team's offensive side, saying, "True, we are trying to score and constantly working on improving. We have created more opportunities and are working on enhancing our performance in the attacking line." Regarding the current generation in the Saudi national team and his vision for their future, he said, "We currently have promising names, and I will work in the upcoming period (after the tournament) to include many young players on the Saudi national team list." When asked about the roles required from Salem Al-Dawsari and whether his performance is declining due to the tasks assigned to him, he said, "I believe we have 26 players, not just one or two. We play matches every three days, and we focus on quick recovery." Concluding the talk about the upcoming match in the round of 16, when asked about the expected team and his preference, he said, "Our goal is always to win. If you want to win this tournament, you have to win every match. We do not know our upcoming matches yet."
