Rallying from a one-goal deficit and listlessness in the first half, the Saudis had managed to upset tournament favourites Argentina 2-1.
EIGHT SECONDS short of 14 minutes in stoppage time, the referee blew his whistle. It could have been the most beautiful tune that Saudi Arabia’s tenacious wonder-men would have heard in their lives. Some of them knelt and kissed the boot-crushed grass of the Lusail Stadium. Some spread their arms to catch hold of their leaping teammates. Some sprinted to a section of the joyous crowd, furiously waving the country’s flag and hurling their jerseys.
How they found the energy to celebrate was baffling. For, they had shed every drop of sweat, stretched every sinew of muscle and expended every ounce of courage in grinding out one of the most shocking defeats in World Cup history.
Rallying from a one-goal deficit and listlessness in the first half, the Saudis had managed to upset tournament favourites Argentina 2-1.
It was a moment that would define the rest of their lives, make them immortal in footballing lore. The humble footballers who stunned Lionel Messi’s team; the miracle men who could spoil Messi’s dream of a perfect World Cup farewell; the eternal underachievers who lit up the World Cup.
It’s such shock defeats that enrich the World Cup experience — and victories like these that make watching a World Cup worthy. As enervating as it is to see a generational footballer like Messi in full bloom, it’s equally romantic to see a mid-tier team like Saudi Arabia, having lost 10 of their 13 previous games, beat a team that had remained unbeaten for 36 games.
When both sides parted for the half-time break, no one anticipated the tempest that was to blow on the pitch. Argentina were bossing Saudi Arabia: a sumptuous Messi penalty, three goals ruled offside, Saudi’s high backline pierced with unreal comfort. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, were flirting with risk-fraught tactics: negligible verve upfield, lack of stability on the middle of the pitch. The 1-0 scoreline at half-time was actually flattering for them.
The second half seemed an ordeal in waiting. But that’s how the most thrilling heists are scripted. The heroes are slung to the corner, tortured and battered, before they channel a rare strength when there is nothing else to be lost. And that’s what Saudi Arabia did.
The first of those heroes was Saleh Al-Shehri, even though he was reduced to cameos after seven months away from the sport. Everything changed in a moment of pure opportunism. Receiving a long ball from Firais Al Buraikan, he escaped Argentina’s defensive bulwark Christian Romero with the deftest of first touches, outmuscled and outsped a pair of Romero’s frantic colleagues, slid a pass through Romero’s legs, and slammed the ball past goalie Emiliano Martinez right into the corner. Firais then ran towards the corner-flag, slumped to his knees and offered a silent prayer in front of the ecstatic, and shocked, Saudi supporters.