Messi’s Argentina get a Saudi shock
Ranked 51st, Saudi Arabia could have been done and dusted in the first half but they found a way to carve out their most famous victory ever
DOHA: The curse of being in an off-side position and a Saudi Arabia surge that was as unexpected as it was spectacular, dragged Argentina through an emotional hell in their World Cup opener. To the list of Senegal-france, North Korea-italy, Usa-england and Cameroon-argentina add this, an upset of such a gargantuan scale that it papered over the sedate shows from Qatar and Iran to make a resounding statement for Asia in what is also being projected as an Arab World Cup.
To do what Saudi Arabia did after overcoming an early Lionel Messi penalty and losing skipper Salman Alfaraj was sensational. The 2-1 victory will go down in history and to do that against a team that hasn’t lost in 36 games and went into this World Cup with its captain having spoken of being calmer—to every team that would make a difference but when the captain in question is Messi it usually makes the difference between ending a 36-year wait and another underwhelming campaign — makes this the mother of all upsets. Wasn’t it only on Monday that Saudi Arabia coach Herve Renard said that Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo make football different? He is the best passer in the French league and still a football legend, Renard had said when asked whether Messi would be less of a threat at 35.
Who would have that when Saleh Alshehri latched on to a long ball from the middle he would cruise past Cristian Romero like the central defender didn’t exit and under pressure produce a placement at such an acute angle that would have given Emiliano Martinez no chance. Saudi Arabia did have their moments in the first half but given how the game had panned out, the 48th-minute goal felt like a sucker punch. In a flash, Lusail turned green as the country that had not too long ago led a blockade against Qatar and shares a border with this thumb-like peninsula celebrated like they had won the World Cup.
Imagine then how would react when Salem Aldawsari struck five minutes later with a shot so brilliant that it brought to mind what Iran coach Carlos Queiroz had said after losing 0-1 to Argentina in 2014. Even if you had two goalkeepers you wouldn’t be able to stop that shot, Queiroz had said in Belo Horizonte of that Messi effort.
Aldawasari controlled a deflection, turned one way and then another before curling a shot that looked impossible till he did it. Neither Rodrigo de Paul nor Leandro Parades thought Aldawsari could pull it off — that he was inside the area also meant they couldn’t go in for the tackle — but he did. Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni looked like he had chewed a lemon and the hordes of Albiceleste fans like they were in the middle of a mid-afternoon nightmare.
Scaloni introduced Lisandro Martinez, Julian Alvarez and Enzo Fernandez taking off Romero, Alejandro Gomez and Parades in the 59th minute. Nicolas Tagliafico was replaced by Marcos Acuna in the 71st but none of the new players could change the scoreline that read Argentina 1, Saudi Arabia 2, courtesy two Al-hilal players.
By then Renard, the first man who has won the African Cup of Nations with two teams, was an animated spirit in a white shirt who was playing the game on the touchline. Inside, it was the Saudi keeper Mohd Alowais who was doing that pulling off a string of saves including diving low to deny Tagliafico. And when he failed, Abdulelah Alamri helped with a fantastic headed save from the goalline to deny Alvarez. Minutes before, Messi had a free-kick, sucked in air and fired but it went to the stands. In stoppage time, Alowais also arched like an inverted spoon to deny Lautaro Martinez making an incredible piece of goalkeeping look simple. Hugs and embraces followed as referee Slavko Vincic blew for time and Messi wasn’t the only player in blue and white who looked lost.
It had started differently though. But for three goals riled out of off-side, Argentina would have killed the game after Messi’s early penalty. It looked like a combination of luck and pluck that Argentina hadn’t done an England, the latter more evident after Saudi Arabia had pulled ahead. From using a high line to catch Argentina off-side, they deployed a low block, won tackles, and cleared their lines. Renard had spoken of having to suffer and suffer they did with five bookings on way to their biggest win. One that came with Saudi Arabia having only 31% possession and trailing in every metric bar the one that matters the most.
Argentina won the penalty when Parades was pulled down by Saud Abdulhamid. Up stepped Messi and like Ecuador’s Enner Valencia, almost waited for Alowais to commit one way and then sent his shot in the other direction. Ten minutes into his last World Cup, he had scored and everything seemed all right. Only it was not.