JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has hired Argentinian coach Edgardo Bauza to lead the Green Falcons national team in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The Saudi Football Federation made the announcement Thursday, just nine days after the Kingdom beat Japan 1-0 to capture a slot in World Cup.
Bauza, who led the UAE national team during the Asian qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2018, replaced Dutch Bert van Marwijk as Saudi head coach.
The chairman of the Saudi Football Federation expressed his gratitude to the UAE Football Association for releasing Bauza to lead the Green Falcons.
Bauza will be the third Argentinian coach to lead Saudi Arabia at a World Cup, following in the footsteps of Jorge Solari (at USA 1994) and Gabriel Calderon (at Germany 2006), according to FIFA.com.
Saudi Arabia is returning to the world finals for the first time since 2006.