Herve Renard has been relieved of his duties as coach of the Saudi Arabia national football team less than two months before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. Georgios Donis, who has coached Saudi club Al Khaleej since 2024, is reportedly being lined up to succeed him. Talks are under way between the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and Al Khaleej about appointing Donis to the national team role, a source close to the negotiations told AFP.

Renard returned as coach of the Saudi Arabia national team at the end of 2024, succeeding Roberto Mancini, who had served in the position for 14 months before leaving. Renard had previously been in charge of the team from 2019 to 2023, when he was replaced by Mancini.

During his first spell, Renard led Saudi Arabia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where the team beat Argentina 2-1 in a group-stage match before being eliminated in the group stage. "And there's only one coach who has led them through both the qualifiers and the World Cup; that's me, in 2022. At least there will be that sense of pride," Renard said.

Renard won the Africa Cup of Nations twice, once with Zambia and once with the Ivory Coast. Between his two stints in Saudi Arabia, he served as coach of the France women's national team from 2023 to 2024, reaching the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and the quarterfinals of the football tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Saudi Arabia have qualified for the FIFA World Cup seven times and made six appearances at the tournament. Their best result came in 1994 in the United States, when they reached the round of 16.

At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Saudi Arabia are in Group H alongside Spain, Uruguay and Cape Verde. All of their group games are scheduled to be played in the United States. Saudi Arabia is due to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.