Argentina’s hopes of kick-starting a Lionel Messi victory parade turned into shock and dismay as unfancied Saudi Arabia pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history on Tuesday with a sensational second-half fightback. It promised to be a tame affair when the Argentine talisman slotted home a 10th minute penalty, but Saudi Arabia clawed their way back into the match, and then took it over, to defeat the twice former champions 2-1 in the opening Group C clash at the Lusail Stadium in the Qatari capital.
The distraught Argentina No 10, playing in his fifth, and likely last, World Cup, headed into the tunnel with his head bowed at full-time. The Saudi Arabia players celebrated, serenaded by thousands of fans in green, while the footballing world tried to comprehend the shock result.
It was no fluke result for Saudi Arabia in the end.
The team that has qualified for the second round only once, in 1994, shackled Argentina by playing a high defensive line, plotted by their coach Herve Renard. The Frenchman took over the Saudi team, having guided Zambia and Ivory Coast to the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2012 and 2015 respectively.
Caught repeatedly offside by the back line, which saw the strikes of Messi and forward Lautaro Martinez ruled out in the first half, Argentina were frustrated by the close marking and the industry of the Saudi team, particularly its defence.
Playing in what is dubbed as the Arab World Cup, Saudi Arabia, ranked 51st in the world, turned the tables on the Latin American giants, ranked third in the FIFA list, in the space of five minutes in the second half. An angled shot by Al-Shehri in the 48th minute was followed by a superb turn and shot by Al-Dawsari in the 53rd, shaking off two defenders on the top of the box before unleashing a swerving, unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
{{/usCountry}}Playing in what is dubbed as the Arab World Cup, Saudi Arabia, ranked 51st in the world, turned the tables on the Latin American giants, ranked third in the FIFA list, in the space of five minutes in the second half. An angled shot by Al-Shehri in the 48th minute was followed by a superb turn and shot by Al-Dawsari in the 53rd, shaking off two defenders on the top of the box before unleashing a swerving, unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
{{/usCountry}}Argentina’s desperate attempts late in the game ran into the Saudi defensive wall with both winger Angel di Maria and Messi guilty of not taking a shot quickly when well placed. It ended the Copa America champions’ run of 36 victories on the trot, and has raised the prospect, however slim, of the giants not progressing into the knockouts. Poland and Mexico are the other teams in the group.
“Our team fulfils our dreams!” and “Where is Messi? We beat him!”, the green-clad Saudis chanted over and over in the Lusail Stadium. The Saudi government declared Wednesday a national holiday to celebrate the win.
Messi bemoaned Argentina’s second half lapse in concentration and urged fans to keep faith in the team.
“In five minutes of mistakes that we made, we went 2-1 down and then it was really tough and we lost organisation and started punting the ball,” he said in comments broadcast by Todo Noticias. “It’s a situation that this group of players has never been through, it’s been a while since we suffered such a tough blow, we didn’t expect to start like this,” he told Argentine media.
“It’s up to us to fix what we did wrong and get back to the basics of who we are. We’re OK, obviously hurt by the result, very bitter. But people must trust that this team will not let them down and we are going to go for it in the next two games.
“Now’s the time to be more united than ever, to show how truly strong we are.”