FIFA World Cup Qatar: Saudis leave Messi and Argentina with similar sinking feeling

In the first half of their opening match at the FIFA World Cup Qatar, Saudia Arabia was trailing Argentina led by Lionel Messi 1–0; but they scored two quick goals to take a 2–1 lead before halftime.

The goal that gave them the lead and proved decisive in the end was worthy of winning any game.

When a high ball came to him, Salem Al Daswari did a spin move that took him away from the goal and left it unprotected.

But after a moment’s hesitation, Al Daswari turned and charged downfield with two Argentine defenders out of position. His shot—with his right foot as always—was blocked by another defender.

Al Daswari took a touch that took him away from Rodrigo De Paul, and then fired in an unstoppable strike past Leandro Paredes—and Emilio Martinez’ fingertips— into the far corner.

Saudi Arabia’s goalkeeper, Al Daswari, reeled away in celebration; joy and disbelief warring on his face as the large contingent of Saudi fans making up most of the 88,000-strong crowd roared.

Regrettably, Argentina had not accounted for this possibility. The scenario they had envisioned—victory—had not occurred.

Argentina’s defeat to Croatia

Argentina’s defeat to Croatia means that Messi, who scored a hat trick in their opening game against Iceland, will not add the World Cup title he so desperately covets.

The team began by drawing 1–1 with Iceland, where Messi missed a penalty; in the following game they were beaten 3–0 by Croatia. They then won against Nigeria and made it through to the knockout stage as one of top four teams. In their next match—the quarter-final against France—they lost 2–0

For the first time since Cameroon beat them in 1990, Argentina lost a World Cup game to an Asian team. So shocking was this result that Herve Renard—who coached Ivory Coast’s shock win over Brazil at last year’s tournament—described his own success as “the biggest achievement of my career.”

“Congratulations to these fantastic players,” said a stunned Renard, apparently still trying to digest the result that will go down as one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history.

“The stars aligned for us. They came here without losing 36 games, and they’re South American champions—not to mention the amazing Messi. But this is football: crazy things can happen. ”

“We made history for Saudi Arabia but we have important games against Mexico and Poland. You can win the first game and not qualify from the group—and you can lose it, too, become champions.”

Messi focus on winning the FIFA World Cup Qatar 

The Argentineans would prefer that Messi focus on winning the FIFA World Cup Qatar this year and not worry about what will happen in Qatar.

and also gave him a chance to join legendary teammate Diego Maradona in the pantheon of Argentine sports heroes who have won World Cups.

“We have to pick ourselves up from this defeat,” said Lionel Scaloni, the Argentina coach. “We played well in the first half but we were unlucky today because their goal was offside—it should not have counted.”

“If we had played better throughout the game, if we hadn’t let them back into it so easily…if there were some different circumstances that could’ve turned out differently than they did…”

The opening minute of the World Cup provided fans with all they could’ve asked for: a chance to watch football’s biggest names in action. Messi almost scored, but his shot was too close to Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais.

However, Messi made the most of his chance in the 10th minute when he took a penalty shot that was awarded to Argentina. Al Owais dove early and Messi caught him by surprise, rolling it across goal rather than shooting straight at him.

For the last decade, Messi’s role with Argentina has changed: he no longer drops back to pick up the ball and create play.

He now roams menacingly on the opponent’s last line of defense, looking to break free or use his visionary passing ability create opportunities for teammates.

Offside trap in last 12 minutes 

The Saudis were taking a big risk, but it was paying off: in the space of 12 minutes during the second half, Argentina had three goals ruled out for off-side—first by Messi and then two by Lautaro Martinez.

But before halftime, the Asians suffered a setback when they lost their captain Salman Al-Faraj to injury—the midfielder had taped up for duty after suffering a shoulder problem playing for his club Al Hilal.

But instead of the injury demoralising Saudi Arabia, it galvanized them. They came roaring back in the second half and scored an equalizer just three minutes after Argentina’s opening goal.

The first goal came after a well-executed give-and go by Firas Al Buraikan and Saleh Al Shehri. The second was an absolutely stunning individual effort from Almotairiadisalimtaryiduddwaariifalansheiriinemayyuunadhalsabilgadibedeembetayyaatuuhnideeeriyataindexinnisoodanbaaberootaehhapuunsikeelohoolaaahhabaajeegaarlooabneuuubauulquburhunshuaagaarreeca

Argentines in shocked – Tried to hit back in FIFA worldcup Qatar

The Argentines were in shock, and they tried to hit back. Scaloni made a triple substitution in an attempt to change things up—but they kept finding the Saudi defence too difficult to breach; Al Owais was like a wall against which all of their attacks foundered. The question was: how long could this go on?

With 10 minutes left in the game, Lionel Messi finally had a chance to turn things around for Argentina. They were awarded a free kick right on the edge of their opponent’s penalty area—a position from which he has scored countless times for his old club Barcelona.

However, he has struggled at World Cups. In 2014, in the final against Germany, Samaras had a similar opportunity to send the game into a shootout but his shot sailed high and wide—it was a similar story here today.

The Saudis held their breath as the Argentine strikers relentlessly attacked. Al Owais was called upon time and again, but he always came up with a save to keep his team in front. In stoppage time, however—just before the whistle went—the ball slipped past him just enough for defender Abdellah Al Amri to head it away from goal before an Argentine attacker could pounce on it

‘Saudi team Fulfil our dreams’

“It was thanks to God and then the conviction that I and my team-mates had,” said man-of-the-match Al Owais, who greeted by hugs at the final whistle. The Saudis celebrated wildly, running to hordes of fans

Messi, sullen amidst the Saudi celebrations around him, appeared to lost in thought. Lusail Stadium is where Argentina will face off with the winner of Group B for a spot in the final—the game that could end their long wait for a world championship trophy worth its weight in gold. But today’s result made it more difficult than ever.

The Saudi fans were exuberant, chanting “Our team fulfills our dreams!” and “Where is Messi? We beat him!” at the Lusail Stadium. Every time their defense cleared a ball, they greeted it with deafening roars.

Argentina will have to recover quickly if Messi wants to become as beloved in his native country as Diego Maradona is.

Saudi coach: Not dwelling on ‘crazy’ win: 

After his team’s “totally crazy” 2-1 win, Renard warned against overcelebration.

“Crazy things happen in football,” the French coach noted, who led Zambia and the Ivory Coast to Africa Cup of Nations glory.

Renard was eager to look ahead to the Saudis’ next Group C matches against Poland and Mexico.

There will be another two games left in the season, so we could take advantage of this opportunity and have a good celebration during the next 20 minutes.”

During a World Cup, one must believe in themselves, because anything can happen in football if one believes in themselves.

It must be said, though, that Renard said he was not entirely satisfied with the performance of his team, despite the shocking upset.

During the first half, we did not perform well from a tactical point of view. In spite of the fact that our block was compact, the pressure we applied to the centre-backs and [defensive midfielder] Leandro Paredes was insufficient” said the 54-year-old.

Having conceded a second goal at that point would have ended the game for us, as we would have ended up losing the game.

Messi and Argentina in FIFA world cup Qatar

As a host, you have to give your all in order to succeed. And that is why I wasn’t satisfied at half-time because the pressure wasn’t good enough, the determination wasn’t good enough, and you have to give your all in order to succeed.” As a team, we didn’t play well in the first half, and we won’t play well in the second half either.

As a result, Renard affirmed that it would not have surprised him if Argentina had taken his side lightly over the course of the game.

Oftentimes when we play higher teams, the opposition will not have the best motivation, but it’s a normal thing to happen, it has also happened to us when we played lower teams.

Saudia Arabia is tougher than Brazil

There’s no doubt that playing against Saudi Arabia is different from playing against Brazil. Some people don’t get that.“

Messi has called defeat a ‘very heavy blow’ because of how it handled

The South American champions beaten by Saudi Arabia in a shock match on Saturday, and Messi said Argentina suffered a “very heavy blow,” however he assured that they would rebound well from the loss.

“Even though it’s a very heavy blow, a defeat that hurts, we must continue to be confident in ourselves despite that result,” Messi said after today’s game.

It has become clear that this group has no intention of giving up. There will a lot of effort put into beating Mexico,” he concluded.

A group of high-level players who play a high line, who are quick on the ball, and who can move the ball around with ease are part of the Saudi Arabia team, according to Messi.

There a few things we worked on, but we rushed through them a bit. We simply have no excuses, we are going to come together more than ever before, and we are going to make this happen.

In the past, this group has shown itself to be strong, and I believe it will continue to do so in the future. Looking back, there was a time when we not faced with such a situation for a long time. Now that we have established this group as an actual one, it is incumbent upon us to prove it.

As a society, we need to go back to our roots and figure out who we actually are. It is important to think about what comes next,” said the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner as he spoke about the future.