Roberto Mancini apologised for disappearing down the tunnel before Saudi Arabia’s fate was sealed in Tuesday’s penalty shoot-out defeat to South Korea that eliminated his side from the Asian Cup.
Reacting to Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s saved spot-kick, which left South Korea one penalty to progress, Mancini walked back to the dressing room at Education City Stadium.
The Italian therefore missed Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan securing his team’s place in the quarter-finals – an action that quickly led to much criticism for the coach’s behaviour.
However, speaking after the 4-2 penalty loss – Sami Al Najei’s effort was also saved by South Korea goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo, Mancini said: "I apologise, I thought it was finished.
"I didn't want to disrespect anyone. I want to say thank you to all my players for what they did. They are improving a lot."
Mancini’s men had come incredibly close to winning the last-16 tie in normal time. The had gone 1-0 up a minute into the second half in Al Rayyan, when substitute Abdullah Radif finished expertly with his second touch of the game.
Saudi Arabia, three-time Asian champions, held on until the final minute of the 10 allotted for stoppage time, when Cho Gue-sung headed home a 99th-minute equaliser to force extra time.
Mancini, who was appointed in August, said: "When you lose a penalty [shoot-out] you are sad because it is difficult, but this is football.
“We have to accept this. I am very happy with my players because they played a very good game against one of the best teams in the world.”
Mancini added: “I am very happy because we improved a lot.
“We worked one month together, and this was really important. Now we are a team. It's clear we have to improve more."
Mancini, 59, was attempting to capture his second major international title as a manager after leading Italy to success in the European Championship in 2021.
Seeking to end a 64-year wait for the trophy, South Korea will meet Australia in the last eight on Friday. Yet the two-time champions have only two days to recover for the clash, when their opponents, title winners in 2015, contested their last-16 encounter with Indonesia on Sunday. They won 4-0.
"That's the reason why I badly wanted to win our group,” South Korea manager Jurgen Klinsmann said. “Some people said I was happy not to top the group and avoid Japan. We didn't win the group and we've paid the price.
"But this win has given this team more spirit. I enjoy coaching this group and they badly want to do well for their country. We wanted to win before penalties; we didn't count on a shoot-out.
"We will recover because we have a good atmosphere. We're looking forward to Australia. This win tonight gives us a lot of optimism, belief and energy - which we will need to beat Australia."
