APW19980620.0219 NEWS NEWSWIRE Saudi Arabia has sacked Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira after the national team's dismal performance at the World Cup in France, the official Saudi Press Agency reported Saturday. Parreira, who led Brazil to its record fourth World Cup title in 1994, was the eighth coach to be sacked by the Saudis in less than four years. The decision was taken by the Saudi soccer federation, which met in an extraordinary session in Paris late Friday. The federation, headed by Prince Faisal bin Fahd, Saudi King Fahd's son, discussed the performance of the national team and its early exit from the finals, the agency said. In its six-hour meeting, the federation decided to call up Saudi coach Mohammed al-Khuraishi to take charge of the team in its last match against South Africa on Wednesday, it said. A committee was also formed to investigate the poor showing of the players, the agency said. Saudi Arabia has lost its two matches so far, the first against Denmark 0-1 and the second against host France 0-4. On the eve of the match against France, Prince Faisal confidently told reporters that his country would win and move on to the second round to match its performance in 1994. ``The federation expresses its apology and sorrow for the loving, loyal sports fans in the kingdom and the Arab and Muslim world for failing to meet their hopes and expectations,'' the agency quoted the federation as saying. In 1994, Saudi Arabia became the only Gulf team to reach the second round of the World Cup. Parreira, one of the most accomplished coaches in the world, signed a one-year contract with the Saudi federation in December for a reported dlrs 3 million. Parreira led Kuwait in 1982 and the United Arab Emirates in 1990 to the World Cup finals. Saudi Arabia won the Asian Cup in 1988 under him. str-ti-as