World Cup upset: Saudi Arabia beats Messi’s Argentina
LUSAIL, QATAR — Lionel Messi stood with his hands on his hips near the center circle, looking stone-faced as Saudi Arabia’s jubilant players ran in all directions around him after pulling off one of the biggest World Cup upsets ever against Argentina.
The South American champions and one of the tournament favorites slumped to a 2-1 loss Tuesday against the second lowest-ranked team at the World Cup in a deflating start to Messi’s quest to win the one major title that has eluded him.
Asked how he felt after a painful start to his record fifth World Cup for Argentina, Messi said: “The truth? Dead. It’s a very hard blow because we did not expect to start in this way.”
Saudi Arabia’s comeback joins the list of other major World Cup upsets: Cameroon’s 1-0 win over an Argentina team led by Diego Maradona in the opening game of the 1990 World Cup; Senegal’s 1-0 victory over defending champion France in the 2002 tournament opener; or the United States beating England by the same score in 1950.
“We know the World Cup is this way,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “Sometimes you can steamroll the opponents and, in a couple of plays, you are losing.”
That summed up the pattern of a match that started with Messi giving Argentina the lead, calmly converting a penalty in the 10th minute for his 92nd international goal. It had all the makings of a routine win for the defending Copa America champions, who were on a 36-match unbeaten run — one short of the record in international soccer. Didn’t turn out that way. Goals by Saleh Alshehri and Salem Aldawsari in a five-minute span early in the second half gave the Saudis
a landmark result in the first World Cup staged in the Middle East. Their previous biggest win was 1-0 over Belgium at the 1994 World Cup, secured by a storied individual goal by Saeed Al-owairan.
“All the stars aligned for us,” Saudi Arabia coach Herve Renard said. “We made history for Saudi football.”
The 35-year-old Messi, playing in his fifth — and likely his final — World Cup for Argentina, scratched the side of his head and shook hands with a Saudi coaching staff member after the final whistle.
He walked toward the tunnel with a group of other Argentina players and looked despondent, an all-too-familiar scene for the seven-time world player of the year who has yet to win soccer’s ultimate prize.
“We are facing two finals now,” said Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez, looking ahead of remaining group matches against Mexico and Poland. “We screwed it up in the second half.”
The unlikely victory by a team made up entirely of Saudi-based players was sealed by a somersault by Aldawsari, who brought down a high ball just inside the penalty area, spun his way past Nahuel Molina with the help of a ricochet, dribbled past Leandro Paredes and drove a powerful shot to the far corner in the 53rd.
A stunned Messi watched as Saudi Arabia’s green-clad fans, who had come over the Qatari border in their thousands, celebrated in disbelief in the stands. Saudi Arabia’s substitutes swarmed onto the field to congratulate Aldawsari, who sank to his knees after his post-goal acrobatics.
“It’s one for the history books,” Renard said.
Mexico 0, Poland 0
DOHA, QATAR — Robert Lewandowski’s second-half penalty attempt was saved by Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, leaving Poland to settle for a 0-0 draw Tuesday at the World Cup.
It was Lewandowski’s first penalty miss for the national team. Poland’s all-time leading scorer with 76 goals remains without a World Cup goal.
Lewandowski was awarded the penalty following a VAR review after Hector Moreno got hold of his shirt and pulled him down. Ochoa, playing in his fifth World Cup, came up yelling in celebration after his* stop, sending the crowd into chants of “Memo!”
While Mexico dominated possession, Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny turned away all three of El Tri’s shots on goal.
The scoreless draw was a good result for Argentina, which was upset by Saudi Arabia 2-1 in an earlier Group C match. The Argentines, led by Lionel Messi, were widely considered to be the favorites to advance.
Mexico has made it to the knockout round in the last seven World Cups, but the “quinto partido,” or fifth game, has eluded the team. El Tri’s best showing at the World Cup was reaching the quarterfinals in 1970 and 1986 as hosts.
Poland was making its second straight World Cup appearance. The team was eliminated in the group stage in 2018.
Tunisia 0, Denmark 0
AL RAYYAN, QATAR — Arab teams are making an impact at the first World Cup in the Middle East.
Tunisia held European Championship semifinalist Denmark to a 0-0 draw Tuesday, three hours after Saudi Arabia beat Argentina in a shocking upset.
“It’s amazing what (Saudi Arabia) did,” Tunisia defender Montassar Talbi said. “We watched a bit of the game in the dressing room. We saw the results. It gave us maybe a little power. We are proud of them. For the Arab countries, too.”
Before a stadium filled almost entirely with Tunisia’s red-clad supporters, midfielder Aïssa Laïdouni set the tone in the very first minute when he stripped emblematic Denmark playmaker Christian Eriksen of the ball with an aggressive sliding tackle — then stood up and pumped his arms menacingly, gesturing to the crowd to get even more fired up.