In a country that usually puts its faith in foreign coaches, it is an achievement for Nasser Al-Johar to return to the helm for the second time.
The Saudi-born coach once again took over by default following the failure of his predecessor Yugoslav Slobodan Santrac.
He replaced Santrac just two games into the final round of Asia's qualifying tournament and succeeded in taking the team to their third successive World Cup finals.
The former Al Nassr player is no stranger to performing rescue jobs, having done much the same thing when he replaced Milan Macala at the Asian Cup in 2000.