THE MOTHER OF SAUDI MIRACLES
Saudi Arabia went into their opener unfancied; Argentina had gone 36 games unbeaten Argentina, victims of one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history, are up there with England’s loss to the United States in 1950 and West Germany losing to Algeria in 1982
SAEED Al Owairan described his swashbuckling goal against Belgium at USA 1994 as “a Saudi miracle.” And it was. The attacking midfielder hotfooted across the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, slaloming past opponents from inside his own half into Belgium’s penalty area, before slamming the ball into the roof of a net guarded by no less than Michel Preud’homme, who would win the Lev Yashin Award at that very tournament.
It is, astonishingly, no longer top of the list of Saudi miracles. Today, a 90-minute supernatural occurrence dethroned 10 seconds of genius.
Saudi Arabia went into their Group C opener as the immeasurable underdogs. Argentina had gone 36 games unbeaten and needed just one more to equal Italy’s world record. With a backline that had kept 13 clean sheets in its last 15 internationals, and an attack featuring Angel Di Maria, Lautaro Martinez and Lionel
Messi, that was a given. Furthermore, Asian sides had been overwhelmed in their first two outings at Qatar 2022, with Ecuador cruising to victory over the hosts and England thrashing Iran 6-2.
And it seemed a question not of the outcome, but of how many Argentina would win by in the early stages. Lionel Messi put them 1-0 up from the spot after 10 minutes, and Lionel Scaloni’s side had three goals disallowed for offside.
The Saudis, however, didn’t let their heads drop. Whatever coach Herve Renard said at half-time, it sent them out optimistic. Expectant even. Saleh Al Shehri, within minutes, equalised. Soon after, having magically kept the ball from three Argentinians, Salem Al Dawsari made it 2-1.
Thereafter it was down to defensive heroics. Ali Al Bulaihi and Hassan Al Tambakti were rocks at the heart of the rearguard. Goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais made several outstanding saves.
The final whistle sounded and Saudi Arabia had pulled off one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history – one that gives them a great chance of reaching the knockout phase for the first time since 1994.
Italy’s world record had been preserved. Saeed Al Owairan’s distinction had been lost. Not that he will care in the slightest. Today was not only the Green Falcons’ zenith, but every Saudi football fan’s proudest moment.