Roberto Mancini’s adventure at the helm of the Arab national team starts off with a defeat by Costa Rica in the friendly match held at St. James’ Park in Newcastle.
A bitter debut for Roberto Mancini as the head coach of Saudi Arabia. The national team under his guidance was defeated 3-1 by Costa Rica in a friendly match played in England at the ‘St. James’ Park‘ home of Newcastle which is owned by the Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman.
It was a challenging start for the Arab national team, falling behind after only 12 minutes into the game due to a goal by Francisco Calvo, a defender who plays in Turkey for Konyaspor. Calvo scored with a header from a free-kick, putting Costa Rica in the lead. In the 32nd minute, they doubled their lead, this time with a header by Manfred Ugalde, Twente‘s forward.
The start of the second half brought hope for Mancini as Saudi Arabia narrowed the gap with a goal by Al Bulayhi in the 68th minute. However, in the final moments of the match, in the 89th minute, Costa Rica sealed the game with a goal scored by Leal, making it 3-1, .
There is clearly much work ahead for Roberto Mancini, who will lead his national team in another friendly match against South Korea on Tuesday, September 12th.
