Roberto Mancini warned Saudi Arabia in opposition to falling sufferer to the type of Asian Cup shock that favorites Japan suffered when his facet performed Kyrgyzstan on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia fought again to beat Oman 2-1 in stoppage time of their opening match in Qatar and may safe their place within the knockout rounds.
Mancini's crew is ranked 56th on this planet and is among the contenders for the title. Kyrgyzstan are 98th and misplaced 2-0 to Thailand to begin their Asian Cup.
However highly-fancied Japan misplaced 2-1 to lower-placed Iraq on Friday and Italian coach Mancini mentioned that ought to function a warning.
“Kyrgyzstan is an excellent crew. You recognize what occurred yesterday with Japan in opposition to Iraq – nobody thought Iraq may beat Japan,” he mentioned on Saturday.
“If you wish to win, it’s a must to preserve good focus.
“What we did within the first recreation is a factor of the previous. This match will likely be very tough.”
The 59-year-old Mancini, who led Italy to European glory in 2021, took over bold Saudi Arabia in August final 12 months.
He has received three, misplaced three and led one among his seven video games, and warned it could take extra time to place his stamp on his facet.
“You want time and with the nationwide crew generally you don't have a lot time to handle the crew and also you want extra time,” he mentioned.
“We’re right here and we need to attempt (to win the title), however it’s not simple.”
