Saudi Arabia became the latest 2026 FIFA World Cup-bound country to make a head coaching switch after Ghana recently appointed Carlos Queiroz to replace Otto Addo as head coach.
The Asian nation named Georgios Donis as the head coach of its national football team after sacking French trainer Herve Renard.
Renard’s return to Saudi Arabia for a second stint came to an end just a few weeks before the start of the 2026 World Cup.
His sacking came on the back of Saudi Arabia losing international friendly games against Egypt (4-0) and Serbia (2-1) last month.
He has reportedly been replaced by Donis who is the head coach for Saudi Pro League side Al-Khaleej with the official announcement to be made soon.
Donis’ Al-Khaleej rank 11th in the Saudi Pro League standings in the 18 team league and he will be tasked with leading Saudi Arabia in this year’s World Cup.
Saudi Arabia has been drawn in Group H with Spain, Uruguay and Cape Verde.
![Argentina's head coach Lionel Scaloni (C,R) tries to intervene as Argentina's midfielder #05 Leandro Paredes clashes with Spain's defender #04 Eric Garcia at the end of the 2026 World Cup football tournament final match between Spain and Argentina at the New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford on July 19, 2026. (Photo by JUAN MABROMATA / AFP via Getty Images) / "The erroneous mention appearing in the metadata of this photo by JUAN MABROMATA has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Argentina's head coach Lionel Scaloni (C,R) tries to intervene as Argentina's midfielder #05 Leandro Paredes clashes with Spain's defender #04 Eric Garcia] instead of [Argentina's head coach Lionel Scaloni (C,R) clashes with Spain's defender #04 Eric Garcia].](https://citisportsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Par-1-350x250.jpg)
