Saudi Arabian national men football team will have immediate former Morocco head coach Herve Renard as their new head coach.

Confirming the appointment on his twitter account, Renard wrote: “Happy to start a new adventure in Saudi Arabia on a new continent!”

The Saudi team said they were getting “the first coach in history to achieve the African Cup with two different teams,” as they listed his accomplishments.

Renard, who won the Africa Cup of Nations with both Zambia and Ivory Coast stood down as Morocco’s coach earlier this month after the team’s early exit from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

The 50-year-old had guided Zambia to Nations Cup success in 2012 and followed it up by coaching Ivory Coast to the trophy three years later.

In his last role, Renard took Morocco from 81st in the Fifa world rankings to 47th. He led them to two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and to the World Cup in Russia in 2018 – the first time the Atlas Lions had played at the global event for 20 years.

Renard’s new team, Saudi Arabia, are currently 68th in the Fifa rankings.