Exclusive Marcos Soares focused on FIFA U20 World Cup after Saudi Arabia's Asian silver

Al Arabiya

16-03-2025

After returning home from China with an AFC U20 Asian Cup silver medal, the first in-person congratulations that Saudi Arabia coach Marcos Soares received was a fitting one. Back in the Kingdom, and straight back to the gym near his Riyadh home, Soares bumped into senior national team coach Herve Renard.
The Frenchman, who worked with Soares during his first spell in charge of the Green Falcons, was full of praise for Saudi Arabia's youngsters after they narrowly lost the U20 Asian Cup final to Australia on penalties.
'Herve and I spoke about the tournament and of course he had watched all the games,' Soares told Al Arabiya English in an exclusive interview. 'He is a great guy and he knows we have some talents but of course it is difficult to promote players at the moment because the [senior] team has the pressure of the World Cup qualifying.
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'We must be patient but these conversations are ongoing of course – about the players who could make the step up to his team in the future. We have a very good relationship and his feeling is like mine about this tournament.
'I am so proud of my team because we have been working so hard to achieve something. I didn't work alone and I have to thank my staff too – they are brilliant.'
The dramatic final shootout in the may not have gone Saudi Arabia's way but the runner-up finish was the country's best performance in the competition in seven years.
It also meant that the Green Falcons qualified for this September's FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, with each of the U20 Asian Cup semi-finalists awarded a place at the tournament.
'The main target was to qualify for the World Cup and that day was amazing when we beat China in the quarter-final,' Soares explained. 'We played in a full stadium, with all the crowd supporting China throughout the game and a very good opposition with amazing players. But we did it.
'It means everything to reach [the U20 World Cup] because I was working at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil as part of the Iranian delegation but now I will be on the field working as the coach. Playing a World Cup in South America with teams like Brazil, Italy, France, Argentina will be very special and I hope we can make it to the knockout stage.
'I will prepare the team very well and then we will try to fight for a place in the second round. That will be amazing. We need to dream but we need to understand that it will not be easy. The level is very high. But mentally I believe we are prepared.'
Soares guided Saudi Arabia to victory at the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U19 Championship last summer; since then the Kingdom has had confirmation it will host the 2034 FIFA World Cup and the Brazilian coach has noticed a shift in expectations.
This is because the players who Soares calls on could be the ones who form the backbone of the Green Falcons team nine years from now.
'I believe the talent is there,' Soare said. 'We have many players who have improved a lot over the past year and I hope they can understand if they want to keep the level that they must work a lot. It's very hard to arrive at that level and to maintain it is also very difficult.
'I am sure we're going to have a few players from our team in the senior team in a few years. This is the normal path and I hope they can be strong mentally to understand what is needed to step up and play for Saudi Arabia – especially at a home World Cup.
'I feel that this is my land now and everything that I'm doing here is to help Saudi Arabia. Everyone at the [Saudi Football] Federation is supporting us a lot to achieve something.'
Among the many Saudi players who made a positive impact at the U20 Asian Cup was 19-year-old Bassam Hazzazi. The Al Nassr midfielder suffered the heartbreak of missing the crucial spot-kick in the final penalty shootout, but Soares insists it shouldn't detract from his displays in China.
'Football can be a funny game because in my opinion he was our best player in the tournament and then he missed the penalty,' Soares said. 'It is not the first time this has happened – I remember when Roberto Baggio and Franco Baresi missed for Italy [to lose to Brazil] in the 1994 World Cup final. This is football.
'But Bassam is very strong mentally. He's always playing with a smile on his face, even if everybody is stressing around him. Of course he was sad to miss the penalty but all his team-mates talked to him afterwards and tried to make him feel better.
'Although it can seem like it is your fault when you are the one who misses, the reality is that you don't lose a match just by one penalty – there are many factors.'
Hazzazi was not the only player to miss a penalty at the tournament China, with defender Saleh Barnawi also failing to score in the semi-final. Despite this, the Al Hilal defender showed admirable spirit to volunteer again to take a spot-kick in the final.
Barnawi is another player who has impressed Soares, who worked with him previously in the youth team of Al Hilal, where he was appointed captain by his now national team coach.
'He is the best player we have in terms of ability to read the game,' Soares said of Barnawi. 'He's not so big for a center-back but he is such a smart player and can read the game very fast. His decision making is very good and he is very strong mentally.
'Nothing changed when he missed the penalty and in the final, he was the first time to volunteer. I trust him and as a coach it is great to have players like this who you have worked with before – who you can build the tactics around. They make my job easier.'
While Soares could – and would – wax lyrical about all of his players, the Brazilian coach reserved special praise for his goalkeeper Hamed al-Shanqity. The teenage Al Ittihad shot-stopper kept three clean sheets in six matches and was officially named Best Goalkeeper at the U20 Asian Cup by AFC observers.
Soares feels al-Shanqity has all the attributes necessary to make it to the very top of the game.
'Hamed is an amazing player – you cannot believe what he does sometimes. And he has still never played a competitive [senior] first-team game in his life – this surprises me. He plays very well with his hands and he is a strong character too.
'He never has any fear and even if he makes a mistake, nothing changes. He is one of my leaders in this team and I have no doubts he could play now in Manchester City or Barcelona or Real Madrid. He's really one of the main reasons that we reached the Asian Cup final.'
Soares said the next step is for his Saudi starlets to be given more game time by their Saudi Pro League clubs, or to seek opportunities elsewhere if those chances don't arrive.
'This [more Pro League] minutes would help us a lot. But also I understand the teams have older players and foreign players who perform very well. It's not easy to go and play there.
'But one of our players Saad Haqawi made an amazing assist to Cristiano Ronaldo last month when he was given a chance. It's an amazing environment there at Al Nassr and I hope there will be more opportunities.
'Of course we also understand that the teams need to win and that doesn't always mean they can give time to the young players. Maybe also a few of my players should go abroad to try different experiences. I believe in the next few months such things are going to happen.'