The Frenchman joined the Green Falcons ahead of their imminent FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Asian Qualifiers campaign, which begins in early September.

Renard - who became the first coach in history to win the Africa Cup of Nations title with two different nations when he led Zambia to glory in 2012 and succeeded again with Côte d’Ivoire three years later – was appointed following his resignation as Morocco national team head coach last month.

The Frenchman joins the Green Falcons ahead of their imminent FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Asian Qualifiers campaign, which begins in early September.

Renard - who became the first coach in history to win the African title with two different nations when he led Zambia to glory in 2012 and succeeded again with Côte d’Ivoire three years later – joins the Saudi setup following his resignation as Moroccan national team head coach two weeks ago.

A 1-0 opening match win against Yemen in Group A was followed up by a late 2-1 defeat to hosts Iraq on Friday in a mixed start to the regional championship, giving the Palestinians little room for error if they are to advance to the final on August 14.

But even if Palestine’s WAFF Championship tilt ends at the group stage, Ould Ali sees the competition as important preparation for the crucial Asian Qualifiers to come.

SAUDI ARABIA 1-2 KUWAIT

Kuwait, champions in 2010, recovered from a slow start to take a successful first step in this year’s edition, coming from behind to beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 in an entertaining clash at Frasno Hariri Stadium.

The Kuwaitis emerged victorious in a match which produced three goals, two penalties and a late red card to secure their first international win of 2019, and continue their perfect record in WAFF Championship opening matches

PALESTINE 1-2 IRAQ

Iraq continued their perfect start to their home championship, recovering from the concession of an early Islam Batran spot-kick to eventually prevail 2-1 at Karbala Sports City.

Iran, Asia's top ranked team, were drawn in Group C for Round Two of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Joint Qualifiers.

Team Melli will have to get past Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong and Cambodia to advance to the third round, which will not only take them a step closer to a third consecutive FIFA World Cup Finals appearance but also seal them a place in the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Finals.

Drawn alongside Lebanon, DPR Korea, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka in a logistically-challenging Group H, Bento said that, while the approach may vary slightly for individual opponents, Korea Republic’s overarching philosophy will remain.

“Preparations, until now have, been good,” said the 50-year-old, who led Sporting and Olympiacos to silverware in European club football.