DOHA | Earthquake in Lusail! Lionel Messi’s Argentina, among the favorites for this 2022 World Cup, was humiliated in their first match by Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in Doha (1-2) for what is one of the biggest sensations in history. of the World Cup.
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“It’s a very hard blow,” said Lionel Messi as Argentina and its supporters already saw themselves lifting the World Cup.
“We didn’t expect to start this way. We thought we started well, with three points, as we said before the match. It would have brought us peace of mind,” added the Argentine genius who is playing what will “surely” be his last World Cup.
The Albiceleste N.10, warmly applauded by the tide of Argentinians who came to support him in Qatar, came out of his lamp in the 10th minute to convert a penalty shot awarded by the referee two minutes earlier after video viewing , for a collision with Paredes in the area on a corner which occurred in the 6th minute.
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The Argentinians could have largely taken shelter, with 3 goals scored but disallowed for offside.
After the break, the “Pulga” saw its magic dry up. And his hopes too, yet against the modest Saudis, 51st in the FIFA rankings.
On returning from the locker room, the Argentine captain lost the ball in the central circle. Abdulelah Almalki then sends a lobbed pass for Saleh Al-Shehri, who inherits the ball in the area, and fires a cross shot from the left which deceives Emiliano Martinez to come into the side netting (48th).
This goal, scored just before the Saudi corner, had the gift of waking up the fans, who will spend the rest of the meeting standing, singing and cheering on their heroes at the Lusail stadium (officially 88,012 spectators on Tuesday). And to sow panic in the Argentine defense, completely confused.
Five minutes later, it was Salem Al-Dawsari who struck the second blow: when a ball fell, he managed to get out between three defenders, and brushed a clear shot from the right that Emiliano Martinez can not reach.
Historical
At the final whistle, the joyful chants of the Argentinians gave way to cries of celebration from the Saudi players, which echoed in the tunnels, all the way to the press conference room.
“It’s a memorable victory, it will go down in history,” savored Hervé Renard, the French coach.
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This result is indeed one of the greatest feats of this competition, with, among others, United States – England (1-0) in 1950, North Korea – Italy (1-0) in 1966, Algeria-FRG (2-1) in 1982, Senegal-France (1-0) in 2002, South Korea – Italy (2-1) in 2002, and South Korea – Germany (2-0) in 2018.
The Argentinians themselves had already been surprised by a more modest team in 1990: at the opening of Group B, Cameroon had then tamed Argentina, the reigning world champion (1-0).
After a fine series of 36 matches without defeat, the Albiceleste suffered its first defeat on Tuesday since July 3, 2019, more than two years ago, in the Copa America semi-final against Brazil (2-0) .
“A few millimeters”
“We knew it was going to end one day,” lamented Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni. “It’s a sad day. It was played out a few millimeters. That’s the technology (in reference to the three goals canceled by the semi-automatic offside detection system introduced this year, Editor’s note). It’s hard to swallow. The match slips away from us in no time. Without realizing it, we were at 2-1”, lamented the technician.
To reach the next round, Argentina must now win their next two matches, starting with Mexico on Saturday. “The players are all very affected, but are already thinking of reversing the situation,” promised Scaloni.
“This group is distinguished by its unity, by its solidity. It’s time to be more united than ever, to get back to the basics and to our game,” added Messi.
Carried by its goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais, huge on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia will have to watch over its injured.
Hervé Renard could not give more news of Yasser Al-Shahrani, hit in the jaw in added time after a collision with his goalkeeper and released on a stretcher, but announced after the match that for his captain and defender Salman Al -Faraj, injured just before the break, “it is very difficult to play one more match in this World Cup”.