Five teams change coaches after qualifying, setting new record for 2026 World Cup

Written by Han Bing The March international match window was originally intended as the last chance for World Cup participating teams' coaches to evaluate their squads, but it turned out to be the final opportunity for some coaches. Following high-level meetings between Saudi sports departments and the football association, French coach Hainault, who had reiterated his ability to lead the team to success at the World Cup, was ultimately fired. This leaves just 59 days before Saudi Arabia's opening World Cup match.

The immediate trigger for Hainault's dismissal was the disastrous friendly matches in March. Saudi Arabia first suffered a 4-0 defeat at home in Jeddah against Egypt without Salah, then lost 2-1 away to Serbia, a team not qualified for the World Cup. After these matches, the Saudi football association president questioned Hainault whether he still believed he could lead the team to success. Although the French coach expressed his desire to stay, calls from Saudi media and public opinion for his removal grew increasingly loud. During the evaluation by Saudi sports authorities, Hainault even declined an invitation from Ghana's football association, but the Saudi FA had already listed a five-candidate shortlist for the new coach last week, indicating Hainault's dismissal was only a matter of time.

Saudi media and the football association's disappointment with Hainault stemmed from the fact that since his appointment in October 2024, he did not significantly improve the team's strength. His first two matches saw the team draw away with Australia and lose 2-0 to Indonesia; subsequently, the Gulf Cup semifinal ended with a 1-2 loss to weaker Oman. Only by defeating China and Bahrain in March and June 2025 did Saudi Arabia barely secure a playoff spot. Later, in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Saudi managed only one win in four matches; in October, relying on favorable scheduling, home advantage, and refereeing, they defeated Indonesia in the playoffs and drew with Iraq to obtain the World Cup ticket. At the Arab Cup late last year, Saudi narrowly beat weaker Palestine in the quarterfinals via penalty shootout, lost to Jordan in the semifinals, and the third-place match against UAE was abandoned due to heavy rain, resulting in an unprecedented shared third place.

On April 16, Saudi media already circulated rumors that Hainault was dismissed and Greek coach Donis, managing Saudi club Sehat Gulf, would take over. Donis signed a one-year short-term contract with the Saudi FA to lead the team at the World Cup, the Jeddah Gulf Cup at year-end, and the Asian Cup early next year. Afterwards, the Saudi FA will decide on extension based on his performance.

On April 17, Hainault confirmed his departure in an interview with AFP, ending his 520-day tenure as Saudi national team coach. Hainault remained quite calm, considering it normal in the football world.

Especially in Saudi Arabia, the national team coach can be dismissed at any time. Brazilian renowned coach Pereira twice managed Saudi: first dismissed on the day the 1990 World Cup qualifiers ended, second dismissed immediately after the first two matches of the 1998 World Cup group stage. Former Jiangsu Suning coach Olaroiu, appointed late 2014, was fired after Saudi's group stage exit at the 2015 Asian Cup, totaling only 20 days in charge. Dutch famous coach Benhak, former Shandong Luneng coach Santrač, and former Argentina coach Bausa, none managed Saudi for more than 10 matches. Other notable coaches who failed in Saudi include Zagallo, Rijkaard, Vingada, and former Dalian Yifang and Shenzhen coach Caro. Hainault's two stints combined for 65 matches, already the most matches managed by any coach in Saudi history. From Puskás in 1975 to now, within just 50 years Saudi has changed 54 head coaches, averaging less than one year per coach. The Saudi head coach position is lucrative but indeed high-risk.

With Hainault's dismissal and Donis's appointment, among the 48 World Cup participating teams, up to five have changed coaches after qualifying: the earliest was Uzbekistan, qualified last June, with former Guangzhou Evergrande coach Cannavaro taking over in October, replacing local coach Kapaze who led the qualification; second was Curaçao from CONCACAF, on February 23 Dutch veteran coach Advocaat resigned due to his daughter's serious illness, Rutten stepped in; third was African Morocco, after losing the African Cup final penalty shootout early this year, Regragui resigned angrily in early March, Morocco U23 Olympic team coach Ouabi was promoted; Ghana, after consecutive losses to Austria and Germany in March international matches, fired local coach Addo, after rejecting invitations to Hainault and others, hired 73-year-old Portuguese renowned coach Queiroz on April 13, marking Queiroz's sixth World Cup participation after 2002 (South Africa), 2010 (Portugal), 2014, 2018, and 2022 (Iran). In 2022 he was appointed just before the tournament, similarly this time.

With Donis taking over, the 2026 USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup becomes the edition with the highest number of participating teams changing coaches after qualification.