ARGENTINA LEFT STUNNED

SAUDI Arabia head coach Herve Renard said the stars aligned in a “completely crazy” comeback win against Argentina that goes down as one of the biggest World Cup upsets ever. Few expected anything other than a Lionel Messiinspired cakewalk at the Lusail Stadium, where the 35-year-old’s early penalty only furthered that feeling. Argentina went on to have three goals disallowed for offside in a one-sided first half that was followed by a remarkable second period in which the raucous Saudi fans cheered their side to a stunning victory.

Saleh Al Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari scored a quickfire double soon after the restart to put Renard’s men ahead, with goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais putting in a man-ofthe-match display to help see out a famous 2-1 win. “Congratulations to these fantastic players,” Saudi coach Renard - who spent a short spell as Cambridge boss in 2004 - said. “We prepared very well and all the stars in the sky were in the same line for us. But don’t forget Argentina are still a fantastic team. They came here without losing any game in 36.”