Saudi Arabia – Keluaran SGP, Togel Singapura, Data SGP, Pengeluaran SGP Hari Ini

Messi dominates heavyweight contest but Lewandowski keeps his head | World Cup 2022

Lionel Messi headed one way, put the brakes on and with a turn of the ankle and a dip of the shoulder set off in the other direction, defender desperately chasing. Robert Lewandowski was the man there, following him and then fouling him. The Argentinian didn’t look pleased; the Pole didn’t either, but there was no way he was going to complain; doing so could cost his country a place in the World Cup, he knew.

It was the 94th minute and it was the first time Lewandowski had got anywhere near Messi, and this wasn’t the way he had imagined it. In every other way, he had been miles off.

So much for that. The big clash was no contest. Lewandowski and Messi have 1,449 goals between them, but there were none here.

Instead, they were scored by Julián Álvarez, and the son of a former footballer who played with Diego Maradona and ended up in parliament, eventually forming part of Macri’s government. Alexis Mac Allister is his name – the hair is red, the roots Scottish and Irish – and he got his first international goal to finally rid Argentina of any nerves they might have had. Instead there was a missed penalty from Messi and then … well, this.

Whatever this was. Poland, and their captain, were in a very strange place now, the tension tearing at them, doubts creeping into every move, every second. Lewandowski had not mustered a shot and had barely seen the ball all night. If this had been a head-to-head, he had lost it. Just not enough to actually get knocked out, not yet. So now he was defending with the rest of them. But how do you defend for your lives while trying not to make a tackle? How do you waste time if you can’t foul and dive and start fights? That was the doubt Poland had to address now.

They knew they were beaten, but they were weren’t out. Somehow, they were still standing and on the flimsiest of platforms. At this stage they were two goals down but two yellow cards up, going through on fair play, which was a funny name for a rule that as the final minutes slipped away here felt anything but fair.

Poland’s fate was in the balance and in many hands, most of them not their own. Mexico were winning 2-0 at Lusail, they were losing 2-0 at the 974 Stadium and just about anything could nudge them into the abyss. A goal here, a goal there, or two more yellow cards.

There must be better ways than this. A shootout somewhere between the two teams perhaps, high noon for a place in the last 16. It would be great viewing. Instead, they just tried to get to the end without getting themselves into a mess. The problem was that Argentina had started to enjoy this for the first time, and kept coming at them, if a little less insistently now. And when Lautaro Martínez had a clear chance headed off the line in the last minute, it almost fell apart.

Then Danny Makkelie – what power to shape destinies he had in those last 15 minutes – blew the final whistle. Poland were through now, but had to wait in case something happened in the other game. Remarkably, it did.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi shrugs off the challenge of Poland’s Robert Lewandowski. — Messi impressed during victory with Argentina hinting they could yet go the distance in Qatar. Photograph: Jose Breton/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

But, like so much else on a night when they had been taken to pieces, it fell their way. Messi and Lewandowski were embracing, the Argentinian whispering something in the Pole’s ear, when the news came through that Saudi Arabia had scored. Maybe Messi was the one that told him; unlikely but it’s nice to imagine it.

Ultimately, both ended the night celebrating. Argentina’s fans were still there singing way after the whistle. The Poles had gone, slipping away silently. Which felt right somehow.

For Argentina, this had been a test more of the mind than anything else.

When Messi had been given a penalty late in the first half and see it saved, Wojciech Szczesny shooting up a strong arm, it might have been different.

Messi has been here before, never more so than in the shootout at the end of the 2016 Copa America final, completing a run of three finals in three years: none of them lost in 90 minutes, but all of them lost. That day, he walked away, depressed, the towel thrown in.

Now, he’s back, a Copa America winner in 2021 and chasing his last chance at the World Cup. “The feeling was ‘we’re never going to win anything, we won’t win, we won’t win, we won’t win’, and what we said was: ‘The sun will come up tomorrow, win or lose,’” Scaloni had said.

Lionel Messi

Here, that was tested, the fault lines risking opening, the mind wavering. But ultimately they stood strong. The second goal had come early enough, and Poland had slipped into protection mode early enough that it played out without nerves, just a bit of a pantomime.

Or maybe it was more simple: maybe they were just much too good, a feeling returning that said: maybe Argentina can do something at this World Cup after all.

The draw has been kind and this was more like it: this was good, and so was Messi. When it came to the battle of the talismen, it ran thus: 0 shots to 7, 18 passes to 70; Argentina’s 23 shots to Poland’s four told the story, but the foul count became the stat that mattered.

Mexico miss out on last 16 on goal difference despite beating Saudi Arabia | World Cup 2022

What a manic and heartbreaking evening for Mexico who finally came alive at a vibrant Lusail Stadium yet narrowly failed to pull off a Houdini act of escapology into the last 16.

Going into added time their higher yellow card count of seven to Poland’s five had them going out and though Salem al-Dawsari then scored, one more Mexico strike would still have put them through.

Gerardo Martino’s team had previously scored no goals at this World Cup yet 52 minutes in were 2-0 up and with the seconds ticking away had one last chance: Luis Chávez swept a free-kick into Saudi Arabia’s area and César Montes met it but no third goal followed and that was game over and time up on Mexico’s valiant effort.

Towards the end Edson Álvarez had also crashed a shot towards Mohammed al-Owais’s goal but it hit a Saudi back. A 20-yard dart by the lively Hirving Lozano claimed a free-kick on the edge of Saudi Arabia’s area but Chávez belted it into the wall. Then, Uriel Antuna did find the Saudi net but this was ruled offside and Poland staggered through.

Mexico had begun with Alexis Vega racing on to a through-pass and only the frame of Owais stopped an opener when the No 10 pulled the trigger.

The save from the Saudi keeper drew an ear-splitting cheer from the reported 60,000 Green Falcons fans inside and they soon sighed in collective relief. Jesús Gallardo’s cross from the left caused a mix-up as Owais flapped and Henry Martin – who scored Mexico’s first – went down when Hassan al-Tambakti challenged him.

If Michael Oliver was not interested in a penalty Mexico were bombarding those in white so raucous cheers greeted any offering of positive Saudi play. Those who had flooded in from the neighbouring nation to be at the match or in its vicinity – the count was around 150,000 – did this when Saud Abdulhamid raced through before being scythed down near Mexico’s D. Dawsari stood over the dead ball but Mohamed Kanno took charge and blazed high.

This was a precious chance wasted because from here Mexico pummelled the Saudis, who found the life squeezed out of them continually in their defensive third.

Mexico’s next threat came from a diving Orbelín Pineda header – he seemed to have slipped the ball beyond Owais but this proved an illusion and Saudi Arabia had escaped.

The pertinent question was how long they could keep Mexico out. Via Lozano on the right or Gallardo on the left, El Tri were in constant ready-to-receive mode from Héctor Moreno or Chávez and the Saudis’ only answer was to chase and scramble or spoil – Saleh al-Shehri and Ali al-Hassan each having their name written in Oliver’s book for fouls.

Henry Martin (centre) scores Mexico’s first goal against Saudi Arabia. — Henry Martin (centre) scores Mexico’s first goal but it was not enough to take them into the last 16. Photograph: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP/Getty Images

Mexico’s fair impersonation of a potent team made the observer wonder why they had been so poor in their previous two outings in which they managed a solitary point.

A further opening arrived when Gallardo was allowed a free volley from a corner. He hoofed it over but the Mexican wave kept crashing over Saudi Arabia, Pineda seeing a deflection take his effort out for another corner.

The possession percentage count of 70-30 in Mexico’s favour illustrated their near-total dominance but a Firas al-Buraikan dash that sprung their defence, followed by a flying Hassan header, reminded them to remain watchful.

Where this Mexico had previously been was a mystery, though after five halves of play they still remained goalless and the unpopular Martino was, surely, 45 minutes from his unhappy tenure being ended.

“Tata’s” standing was evidenced in the boos that greeted his name going up on the big screens before kick-off. The coach’s crime was to oversee a toothless proposition that still seemed to be certainly heading for failure to reach the last 16.

A Chávez curving attempt beaten away by Owais at the start of the second half, though, suggested no let-up and, at last, Mexico struck. Their first goal of these championships was simple: Chávez this time directed a corner in from the left, Montes flicked on and Martín finished.

With Argentina beating Poland in the other game, goal difference was still stacked against Mexico progressing. But, next, Chávez thumbed a nose at the odds by sweeping home the sweetest free-kick from 30 yards that beat Owais to his left, the ball always bending away.

This had the Mexico replacements joining the celebrations and drew their team closer to the seemingly impossible. In a madcap passage Lozano scored what would have been their third and the one that would take them above Poland on goals scored but offside ruled it out.

When Argentina went 2-0 up against Poland this meant the Mexicans and Poles were tied on all criteria but fair play put the Europeans through.

Mexico continued to pepper Saudi Arabia but could not get over the line and claim a memorable victory. In the final analysis Martino has to answer why this performance only came this evening. He might also pay for it with his job.

‘The greatest day of my life’: Saudi Arabia’s female fans bring the noise | World Cup 2022

Saudi Arabia have been bringing the noise in Qatar. Fans have travelled in numbers greater than any other country, with only Argentina coming close. The emerald green shirt is a common sight across Doha. They’re on the corniche and in the metro and, in their first two Group C fixtures, they have generated a fearsome atmosphere within the ground.

It may seem an observation that ought not to have to be made, but the Saudi fanbase in Qatar is made up of both men and women. At Education City on Saturday afternoon, perhaps one in 20 of those making their way into the stadium were female, making them equivalent to the number of women there to support Poland. This is a first.

Three years ago, as part of a series of reforms, a decree from the Saudi royal family announced that women would be allowed to leave the country without first acquiring the consent of their male guardian. The guardianship system remains, and applies to every woman throughout their lives, with the role of guardian transferring from father to husband. But it does not apply in as many aspects as it once did – which means that going to this neighbouring World Cup, for a country that is demonstrably football mad, is now possible for everyone.

Talking to female supporters before the match was not easy. Requests to talk were politely turned down and business cards offering the opportunity to talk later – just about the football – were returned. One woman, wearing the niqab, agreed to speak. Her name was Aliya, it was her first time watching her national side and she was optimistic: “Inshallah we will win.” She said she was excited about being part of the experience: “I am looking forward to the cheering and the people in there, the whole experience”. Her husband took over. “This is the World Cup – this is what it means,” he said. “Saudi will go to the next stage, we will have female teams and a female league. Our new president supports everything and ladies come first.”

The president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation is Yasser al-Misehal, a former chair of the Saudi men’s professional league and a member of Fifa’s disciplinary committee. It is true he has presided over rapid change in the women’s game in the country. Two years ago the Saudi Women’s Premier League was established, the first national competition for women’s club sides. Then, in the spring of this year, a potentially more momentous event occurred: a first international fixture, with Saudi Arabia women beating the Seychelles 2-0 in a friendly in Mauritius, the first step on a proposed pathway into the official Fifa classification.

The growth of the women’s game comes a decade after Saudi officials were lobbying Fifa to ban the wearing of the hijab in football, a measure that would prevent women from playing the game at all. Five years ago women were not allowed into stadiums as spectators, the ban eventually lifted in three venues at the beginning of 2018. That these changes have been made at the same time as Saudi looks to claim a more central role in the sporting world, and with a potential bid for the 2030 World Cup on the way, may not be a coincidence. But they are real.

A few minutes after I spoke to Aliya, Mariam Meshikhes walked past with her friend. Mariam lives in the east of Saudi Arabia, was attending her first match and wearing a replica Saudi away shirt and a light green hijab. It was fair to say she was not reluctant to talk about the experience.

“This is my first World Cup, this is my first game I have ever attended in a stadium for the Saudi national team – this has been my dream since I was a teenager,” she said. “I have watched all the games. As a teenager I watched all of them and I was just wishing to be there and I can’t believe that this is the day.”

At this point her friend, an engineer, observed that Mariam, a doctor, had left her twins at home with her husband. “They’re OK, they’re OK,” she said. “They know I’m happy.”

What, Mariam was asked, did she think female football fans bring to a previously all-male crowd? “Well, civility, obviously,” she smiled. “Females are needed everywhere; we’re 50% of our country – more than 50% of our country, right? She’s an engineer, I’m a doctor so we’re already participating in our country. Now it’s amazing that we are able to participate in rooting for our country in the World Cup. And to attend when they are on a winning streak – inshallah – and hopefully they win and they have a very big chance to be the first qualifier to the 16th round, was just … you have no idea … this is the greatest day of my life.”

Of course football doesn’t always make dreams come true and Poland won a well-contested match 2-0. Now the Saudis face a final fixture against Mexico needing at least a point to qualify, and no doubt a stirring speech from their coach, René Hervard, will be forthcoming. But the stars of the Poland match were as much the Saudi crowd as the players and they will be out in force at the 88,966-capacity Lusail Stadium on Wednesday. Much has been made of the means by which countries use sport to burnish their reputations, but there can be few more effective ambassadors for Saudi Arabia right now than their supporters.

World Cup 2022 diary: brave Iran fans shame Fifa at Qatar’s big show | World Cup 2022

Sunday

No more sleeps. And not an overwhelming sense of a country waking up with World Cup fever. The assignment is to reflect what it is like in Doha as Qatar opens the first World Cup to be staged in the Middle East with a game against Ecuador. On a two-hour walk around the city before ending up at Souq Waqif, a traditional magnet for locals and tourists, the only signs of World Cup life are an organised gathering for Qataris (100 maximum) outside Millennium Plaza, a few cars driving past waving both Qatar and Palestine flags, and two men sat outside a refrigerator repair shop with a TV propped up on a chair. Souq Waqif is livelier, although more people are gathered around a Korean technology stand than looking for the game. There is dangerous overcrowding at the Fan Festival, however, where too many people descend on the 40,000-capacity venue and are kept in a holding area for almost an hour before being herded away. An inevitable consequence, you might say, of hosting a World Cup in and around one city that offers few options for football fans.

Monday

A day at the main media centre, the football journalist’s equivalent of The Terminal starring Tom Hanks. You might never leave. And that might be the point. It has a hair and beauty salon, a gym, a dry cleaners, a bar, restaurants, a vast working area, two virtual stadium “experiences” (watching matches at the cinema, basically), two press conference rooms and a bus terminus from where you can travel to all the games. The France head coach, Didier Deschamps, is besieged with requests for selfies from local journalists after previewing the world champions’ opener against Australia. There is standing room only for Argentina’s press conference due to the appearance of Lionel Messi and there is a rush for the exits when he finishes, leaving Saudi Arabia head coach, Hervé Renard, to address an almost deserted auditorium. The world’s media will be hanging on his every word inside 24 hours.

The Saudi Arabia coach, Hervé Renard, on the touchline against Argentina — The Saudi Arabia coach, Hervé Renard, oversees a stunning upset against Argentina. Photograph: Michael Zemanek/Shutterstock

Tuesday

Jackpot. Covering Messi at his last World Cup was already special but Argentina v Saudi Arabia exceeds all expectations. On the metro up to Lusail Stadium it feels like a World Cup is finally under way with carriages crammed with Argentina and Saudi supporters in full voice. The atmosphere inside the World Cup final venue is exceptional and builds as Saudi Arabia produce one of the biggest shocks in the competition’s history. An unforgettable moment. Then it’s off to the Fan Festival to watch France v Australia. A 500ml can of Budweiser – the only alcohol available – costs 50 Qatari riyal, roughly £11.50.

Wednesday

Apartment – metro – media centre – bus – stadium – metro – apartment. This, more or less, is the daily work routine. Monotonous, yes, but you’re not missing out on much in Qatar. It’s the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium tonight for Canada’s first World Cup appearance in 36 years. They should beat Belgium; they lose, on account of never scoring at a World Cup. It is now four World Cup games without a goal for Canada. A record. The 10pm kick-off means getting back to the apartment at 3.15am, once everything is filed and the last metro is caught. It could be worse: the journalist next to me in the stadium opened a bottle of Coca-Cola before kick-off that exploded everywhere but mainly down into his laptop. It died.

Thursday

While taking in the sights on a walk along the Corniche, Doha’s seven-kilometre promenade, word comes through of a late ticket for Brazil v Serbia at Lusail Stadium. We were given a Qatar-controlled “look at the safe and happy migrant labourers tour” of the World Cup final venue under construction three years ago while here with Liverpool for the Club World Cup. It was a stadium in a desert. Now it is a stadium next to a growing city of glittering towers, architecturally stunning hotels, apartment blocks, boulevards and Place Vendôme mall, a French-Vegas style construction covering 1,150,000 square metres. It’s taken longer for Liverpool city council to reconfigure Lime Street, as Richarlison can testify. Now he’s flinging himself into World Cup superstardom.

Brazil’s Richarlison scores a spectacular goal against Serbia. Photograph: Laurent Gilliéron/AP

Friday

The power of the World Cup strikes like a bolt. The sound of the Iran national anthem being booed and whistled by Iranians before kick-off against Wales and the sight of Iranian women and men left distraught afterwards is incredibly moving. It serves as another rebuke to the pathetic appeal by Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, for everyone to “stick to the football”. Security guards following orders confiscate an Iran fan’s football shirt that has “Mahsa Amini 22” printed on the back, the name and age of the woman whose death in police custody sparked the ongoing protests in the country. Shame on Fifa. There are reports of fans being arrested for carrying flags opposed to the Islamic republic and for banners with the protest slogan ‘Women, life, freedom’. Shame on Qatar. Iran players somehow block out the powerful distractions to produce an emotion-charged victory.

Saturday

Apartment – metro – media centre – bus – stadium – metro – apartment.

Robert Lewandowski gets first World Cup goal as Poland beat Saudi Arabia | World Cup 2022

Before kick-off Herve Renard denied that Saudi Arabia’s government had gifted his players a Rolls Royce apiece in recognition of their achievement in beating Argentina last week. The Green Falcons’ French manager reminded everyone his team had not escaped the group stage yet and, Robert Lewandowski revelled in reinforcing the point.

Poland’s record scorer not only finally registered his first World Cup goal but created Piotr Zielenski’s opener as Herve Renard’s initially dominant team missed a penalty and ultimately ran out of steam.

Barely two minutes had elapsed before Lewandowski was left limping following a full-blooded Saudi challenge. It was cheered to the rafters by a full house at Education City where the overwhelmingly Saudi-supporting crowd had transformed the stadium into a sea of green, and every time a Poland player touched the ball they were booed like pantomime villains.

The atmosphere served as a tailwind for Renard’s vibrant side and it took an excellent save by Wojciech Szczesny to palm a shot over the bar from the impressive Mohammed Kano. Invariably half a yard off the pace at this juncture, Poland appeared in danger of being submerged by wave upon wave of Saudi attacks and it spoke volumes that, as early as the 20th minute, their mounting frustration had seen three of Czeslaw Michniewicz’s players booked.

That trio included Aston Villa’s Matty Cash, a right-back Renard’s side seemed particularly eager to provoke into the collection of a second yellow card. Lewandowski was so starved of service that he dropped ever deeper in search of the ball. At one point Poland’s record goalscorer could even be spotted occupying the right-back role.

Then, in the 39th minute, Cash for once succeeded in overlapping down the right and although Lewandowski could not quite control his cross in the manner he had hoped, Poland’s captain laid it off to Piotr Zielsinki. As Zielsinki’s fabulous first-time volley flew into the roof of the net, Lewandowski smiled for the first time.

It was only his side’s second chance, Saudi Arabia’s Saleh Al Shehri having earlier diverted Krystian Bielik’s header to safety. The same pair were involved in a rather more significant incident at the other end when Bielik caught Al Shehri on an ankle in the area and, following a VAR review, a penalty was given.

Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saves the follow-up shot from Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al Breik after saving a penalty from Salem Al Dawsari. Photograph: Peter Bryne/PA

It was a soft award and the kick was disappointingly executed by Al Dawsari, whose poor shot was saved low by Szczesny. The former Arsenal goalkeeper then performed acrobatic wonders to somehow tip the follow-up shot from Mohammed Al Breik over the bar.

Szczesny’s double-save was up there with the finest goalkeeping interventions seen at the World Cup. By now it was dark in Doha and Renard desperately needed one of his players to switch the lights back on for his side.

Yet Poland’s back four – Michniewicz had switched from his more familiar defensive trio specifically for this game – held firm. Indeed Poland might have increased their advantage but saw a header from Arkadiusz Milik and a shot from Lewandowski, who by now was joining the attacking dots for Poland, hit the bar.

At this stage the tiring Green Falcons had lost their earlier shape and structure and looked to be interchanging positions at will, but urged on by the hyperactive Renard, whose touchline exertions had left his trademark fitted white shirt thoroughly soaked in sweat, they remained dangerous. Or at least they did until Abdullah Al Malki’s poor touch permitted Lewandowski to snatch the ball off his toes before directing a low left-foot shot under the goalkeeper.

Lewandowski claims to always sleep on his left side in order to preserve the power of his slightly stronger right foot, but the left looked pretty good here. It was his 77th goal in a Poland shirt and left both sides with much to play for in their final group games, when Lewandowski and co face Argentina and Saudi Arabia Mexico.

Hidden near the dunes, Saudi Arabia plot another World Cup shock | Saudi Arabia

Half a mile to the south of Saudi Arabia’s training pitch, the silhouettes of two camels move slowly against the late afternoon sun. They are carrying visitors along the crest of a sand dune whose slopes are scarred by the tracks of overland vehicles and SUVs. At the bottom, a gargantuan Chevrolet advertisement offers alternative transport options and a long line of semi-permanent structures hawks tourist trinkets. This is the gateway to a region Qatar hopes will bewitch those who want a break from the football: a near-empty expanse of undulating sand that covers the country’s south-eastern interior and is marketed as an outdoor adventurer’s playground.

In truth it hardly resembles a honeypot and that is how its temporary residents like it. The Saudi Football Association stole in quickly to secure this base, at the exclusive Sealine beach resort, two and a half years ago. It is only 25 miles from the border with their country and, an hour’s drive south of Doha, feels cut off from the inner city’s manic energy. They knew from the experience of 2019, when Qatar hosted the Gulf Cup, that the noise and logjams of an urban centre present unwelcome hurdles over the course of a tournament.

So it is to the quiet backdrop of those dunes and, 100 metres in the other direction, a palm-fringed stretch of sand that Hervé Renard leads his players out for practice. The complex is closed to everyone bar the Saudi setup, their loved ones, operational personnel and a small number of visitors who have purchased day passes for a sectioned-off area of beach. One describes himself as “a guest of the emir”; it is the footballers, though, who have reaped the most obvious benefits of local hospitality.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling but we were talking about this and, if we want it to last, we have to qualify from the group,” says Saleh al-Shehri, who scored the equaliser against Argentina and set in train one of the World Cup’s great upsets. Saudi Arabia face Poland next and their task is to repeat the intensity and bravery that bent proceedings to their will last time out. Saturday’s opponents may be considered a rung down from Argentina but Renard’s side would still ordinarily be viewed as underdogs.

Three points would, contrary to every initial expectation, guarantee their first knockout assignment since the Saeed al-Owairan-fuelled campaign at USA 94. “All the odds were against us,” Shehri says. “We believe in ourselves and we worked hard to get here because it wasn’t easy. And I think we proved to everyone that we are worthy of being here.”

Success inevitably begets greed for more but there is an awareness back home that, even if the Saudis fall short from hereon, they have already earned a place in legend. Perhaps they are at their best when the pressure is off. Last month Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince, met the squad and told them to “be comfortable, play and enjoy the tournament”. That request has been fulfilled so far.

Saleh al-Shehri

Nonetheless excitement will be at fever pitch on Saturday and venues such as Mrsool Park, a stadium in Riyadh that has been given over to a fan park and giant screen, will teem with anticipation. “We have to make our country and our fans proud,” Shehri continues. “Going through is a dream for us: to get back there after all these years would be amazing.”

Before the session starts, Renard stands in deep conversation with Yasser al-Misehal, the FA president. Misehal makes his way back around the pitch and is soon joined, in the modest bank of seats erected for onlookers, by Renard’s parents. Their arrival brings spontaneous applause: families have been allowed to join the players and staff today, adding to the close-knit feel around a setup happy to be at a remove from the external gaze.

Saudi Arabia’s Salem al-Dawsari shows his acrobatics skills after scoring the winner against Argentina. Photograph: Luca Bruno/AP

That is where most of the Saudi squad spend their time. They are all domestic-based and only the most dedicated of football followers from further-flung regions could reel off their names before Tuesday. It means that they have no secrets from each other and, having spent a two-month training camp together in the runup to Qatar 2022, felt ready to surprise the outside world. “I think we’ve developed a lot,” Shehri says. “It’s a chance to prove to everyone that Saudi football is getting better day by day.”

Physical duels will, he suggested, be decisive against Poland. It will be a different kind of challenge, perhaps an equally imposing one if Robert Lewandowski has mended his radar, but the opportunity ahead is alluring. During the group stage about 200,000 Saudis are expected to visit Qatar for the party: that number would swell considerably with progress to the last 16. Shehri can see the prize. “We made history and there is still more to come, inshallah,” he says.

Driving north back towards the capital, along near-empty highways, flares leap high into the darkening sky from the stacks of a sprawling oil refinery that adjoins the stretch of shore next to Sealine. The contrast with the wandering dromedaries is stark and there is a sense that, in this short trip to the Saudis’ base, the raw materials powering the host country’s month-long festival have been set in microcosm.

Saudi Arabia, whose country has its own tension between the private and the tableau shown to the public, intend to keep global eyes on the brighter side this weekend.

Saudi government would back private bids for Manchester United or Liverpool | Premier League

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s sports minister, has said his government would definitely support any private sector bids from the country for Manchester United or Liverpool.

While the Saudi Public Investment Fund backed the purchase of Newcastle United last winter, Prince Abdulaziz said private businesses in his country have a strong interest in English football’s most successful clubs, with both instructing banks regarding potential investment or sale.

“From the private sector, I can’t speak on their behalf, but there is a lot of interest and appetite and passion about football,” he told BBC Sport. “It’s the most-watched league in Saudi and the region and you have a lot of fans of the Premier League. We will definitely support it if any [Saudi] private sector comes in, because we know that’s going to reflect positively on sports within the kingdom. If there’s an investor willing to do so and the numbers add up, why not?”

The prince also stated a wish to see Cristiano Ronaldo play in Saudi. The 37-year-old is a free agent after leaving United by mutual agreement this week and he recently stated that he turned down a two-year deal in the summer worth more than £300m a year from a Saudi club.

“I would love to see Ronaldo play in the Saudi league,” said Prince Abdulaziz. “It would benefit the league, the sports eco-system in Saudi and will inspire the youth for the future. He’s a role model to a lot of kids and has a big fanbase in Saudi.”

Ronaldo scored in Portugal’s 3-2 win over Ghana at the Qatar World Cup on Thursday and Saudi may make its own bid to host the tournament. “Who wouldn’t want to host the World Cup?” the prince said. “Any country in the world would love to host the World Cup.”

In hosting major sporting events including boxing world title fights Saudi has been accused of sportwashing to deflect criticism of its record on human rights. But Prince Abdulaziz claimed doing so has been positive for his nation’s people.

“The numbers don’t lie – when you look at participation in boxing, from six gyms in 2018 to 57 gyms today. A 300% participation increase, 60% are women, which was a shock for us. When you see appetite from the youth, men and women, they learned from it. If it’s making the country better and fixing a lot of the social issues we have in terms of participation then that’s a benefit for us,” he said.

Lionel Messi’s international career has never felt closer to oblivion | World Cup 2022

There was more time. When you are Lionel Messi, there is always more time. Another split-second to play the pass. Another couple of beats to wait for the space to open up. Another year to mount a challenge. Another World Cup to fight. And here, on a bright warm day in November, with the clocks striking 13 minutes of injury time, there were still a few more seconds for Argentina to make things right.

Messi advanced down the right channel, nudging the ball along with impatient taps of his left outstep. A little space had opened up in front of him in the Saudi Arabia midfield. Ángel Di María was making the overlapping run on the right wing. In between him and the goal stood three defenders. Briefly, thrillingly, you could see the cogs whirring as Messi contemplated taking them all on and saving the match on his own. Instead, the pass went sideways to Di María and the cross went nowhere. There is always more time.

Not here, perhaps, but later. There are two games remaining in this group, processes to be trusted, faith to be kept. Even after a disaster on this seismic and stunning scale, the methods that brought Argentina to Qatar as one of the tournament favourites on a run of 36 unbeaten games must remain intact, if only because they have little other choice. The stakes were always this high. The margins of failure were always this punishing.

Argentina’s fatal mistake here was in deluding themselves otherwise. The 21st century’s greatest World Cup shock did not immediately portend itself. As Saudi and Argentinian fans converged on the giant golden boat of the Lusail Stadium under cloudless midday skies, the atmosphere was almost festive: selfies on the metro, hugs on the concourses, Saudis wearing Messi shirts, Qataris wearing Messi shirts, Australian tourists wearing Messi shirts.

Nothing that unfolded in a vivid and entertaining first half seemed to shake that air of informality. It was 1-0, but the ball had hit the Saudi net so many times that it didn’t feel like a 1-0. In truth what was happening was that Hervé Renard’s immaculate defensive line was perfectly disrupting Argentina’s buildup, forcing them to go for a little more, to play the pass a little earlier or later than they would have liked. This was how Argentina scored – or didn’t score – their three offside goals.

'Messi, where are you?': Saudi fans celebrate shock win over Argentina – video — ‘Messi, where are you?’: Saudi fans celebrate shock win over Argentina – video

Nobody seemed overly perturbed at any of this. There was, after all, always more time.

What of Messi? Well, he got his goal, a delightful confidence trick of a penalty in the 10th minute. But for the most part he too was easing himself into the tournament, sniffing the air, trying to keep a lid on things. We already knew this about him, of course: the way he likes to spend the opening minutes just walking and watching, getting to know the shape and heft of the game, working out where the spaces might open up. Messi is probably the only guy in the world who actually reads all the terms and conditions.

But at the same time Argentina seemed to soften a little, convinced that all they needed to do was to manage the game through to its inevitable conclusion. More and more their attacks began to break down, or dissolve into harmless spells of possession. Meanwhile the precise physicality of the Saudi defensive rearguard was beginning to disrupt them. Every single Saudi outfield player made at least one tackle. Eight of them blocked a shot. They attacked bravely and directly, Firas al-Buraikan and Salem al-Dawsari striding up the flanks like lone soldiers sprinting across no-man’s-land. Slowly and by degrees, Saudi Arabia were beginning to sharpen the game to a point.

Even so, when Saudi Arabia’s equaliser came it still felt like something of a miracle, and was greeted as such by a deafening wall of Saudi pride and Saudi songs, Saudi men and more Saudi men. Certainly Argentina seemed stunned by the violence and suddenness of the assault. Rarely, if ever, can they have played a World Cup game in a neutral stadium and felt so thoroughly outnumbered, out-chanted, outmatched. And it was in those infamous few minutes that the game was lost. Eardrums still stinging, hearts still pumping, heads still rattling, Nawaf al-Abid tried a curling shot, Di María and Leandro Paredes lunged hopelessly at the rebound, and Dawsari fired the ball into the top corner to screams of anguish and disbelief.

What did Argentina have left? As the tackles continued to pile in, as the crosses rained down on the goal of Mohammed al-Owais, as the Saudis in the crowd shredded what was left of their nerves, perhaps this is what will concern Lionel Scaloni most. The blend of urgency and composure that characterises all the great teams was entirely absent here: too bloodless in the first half, too confused in the second. The withdrawal of Paredes unbalanced them in midfield, and short of giving the ball to Messi they were bereft of ideas in the final third.

This is not a team that have gone stale overnight. But whatever serenity, stability or momentum they had built up over the past three years has been shattered. Every remaining minute of their World Cup will now be played with a knife between their teeth, which could ultimately forge them or break them. Messi’s own international career has never felt closer to oblivion. There is still time. But it is swiftly running out.

‘We gave them a response’: Saudi Arabia claim their place in World Cup history | World Cup 2022

Cameroon against Argentina at Italia 90. USA versus England in Belo Horizonte in 1950. Senegal taking on France in Seoul 20 years ago. Aficionados will argue about the order, but there is no doubt that Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 victory over Argentina in Doha on Tuesday will go down alongside those matches as one of the greatest World Cup shocks of all time.

Second-half goals from Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari cancelled out a first-half penalty from Lionel Messi to give the Saudis a real chance of qualifying for the knockout stages in Qatar. But the facts of the game were barely the start of it, the significance of the moment extending well beyond the scope of just 90 minutes.

It would be remiss not to start with what it means for the Saudi team and their fans, so indelibly did both leave their mark on the 88,000 capacity Lusail Stadium. Nobody expected them to win against the two-times world champions. This is the sixth World Cup for which the Saudis have qualified, their record before this tournament: played 16, won three, lost 11.

They are perennial minnows, the butt of World Cup jokes and their pre-match press conference for this fixture was attended by a handful of journalists. One player said the questions asked by those who did turn up were used as typical dressing-room motivation. “I enjoyed embarrassing some of those journalists, especially those at the press conferences,” the midfielder Abdulelah al-Malki said. “They weren’t very respectful to us but we gave them a response.”

Not just playing for pride, the Saudis were also playing for a huge contingent of travelling fans. Swathes of emerald green ran around the ground, behind the goal in which the Saudis scored twice and up into the rafters that reverberated with noise throughout. Numbering tens of thousands the Saudi support will be one of the largest at this World Cup; their songs and jeers and constant bouncing also recognisably the behaviour of football ultras.

“I would like to thank everyone who attended from Saudi Arabia”, said Shehri. “Hopefully they went back to their hotels happy. We still need them, we still have two matches more and I hope they will support us like they did today.”

The players responded to the roars of the crowd and, especially in the second half, delivered a performance of gusto, scoring two fine goals and throwing bodies at the ball to preserve their lead. It was also a tactically astute showing and when the players emerged in the tunnel afterwards there was no sign of elation. Instead the players, who all play for domestic club sides, uttered the more prosaic and familiar Premier League refrain (at least in translation from the Arabic) of being “happy with the three points”.

In short, this was a match that said Saudi Arabia had arrived and Wednesday has been declared a national holiday. But the timing of the team’s historic achievement is perhaps not coincidental. The first World Cup in the Middle East remains beset by controversy but it is also giving Qatar the global spotlight ahead of its longtime rival. This match saw Saudi step centre stage however and, not only that, they claimed the culturally powerful title of sporting underdog. In the stands fans cheered wearing Newcastle United kits (designed in Saudi colours). In the executive boxes, the emir of Qatar briefly raised the Saudi flag. This was not a match without political significance.

It was also a contest played by two teams, and for Argentina it ended in defeat. For many they are one of the clear favourites to win this tournament and they will likely still qualify for the knockout stages. But this was a chastening loss, their first defeat in 37 matches, and the majority of the Argentina squad left the stadium in funereal silence. One exception was the captain and, for many, the best player to ever play the game: Messi.

Lionel Messi against Saudi Arabia — Lionel Messi was unable to inspire his teammates after they went 2-1 down. Photograph: Colorsport/Shutterstock

He performed his media duties, speaking to clambering hordes of Argentinian media, accepting the defeat, trying not to let it gather too much added significance. This tournament has been framed as the 35-year-old’s swansong, his last chance to win the one title that has eluded him in his garlanded career. He has been in sparkling form for his club side, Paris St-Germain, but in the second half here he looked jaded, unable to impose himself.

Messi has his own place in the political backdrop against which this tournament is being played. PSG are owned by Qatar Sports Investments, a subsidiary of the country’s sovereign wealth fund. The player himself, meanwhile, became this year a “brand ambassador” for the tourist authority of Saudi Arabia, receiving an undisclosed but unlikely insubstantial fee. An icon across the world, he is a symbolic figure in the Gulf too. As he approached the exit of the Lusail Stadium the Guardian asked Messi whether, in his role as ambassador, he considered this a good day for Saudi Arabia. The legend did not respond.

Where does Saudi Arabia’s win over Argentina rank in World Cup shocks? | World Cup 2022

1) England 0 USA 1, Brazil 1950

The biggest World Cup upset up to that point in the competition’s history and one so shocking that some newspapers assumed the wire report of a 1-0 final score was a typo and so instead reported that England had won 10-0. That is a myth, apparently, but nobody could blame editors at the time for not believing the turn of events in Belo Horizonte. An England team featuring players such as Billy Wright, Tom Finney and Stan Mortensen were meant to wipe the floor with an American side made up largely of amateurs and who had arrived in Brazil having trained for only a week together. Even their own manager, Bill Jeffrey, described them as “‘sheep ready to be slaughtered” but in their second group game they performed like lions, taking the lead through a 38th-minute header from Joe Gaetjens, a Haitian-born dishwasher from New York, and holding on during a second-half onslaught from England to complete the so-called “Miracle on Grass”.

US centre-forward Joe Gaetjens is carried off by cheering fans after his goal beat England at the 1950 World Cup for the ‘Miracle on Grass’. Photograph: AP

2) Italy 0 North Korea 1, England 1966

It’s hard to think of North Korea as plucky little underdogs but that was very much the case on a July evening at Ayresome Park as a nation featuring at the World Cup finals tournament for a first time came up against the two-time winners of the competition. According to most, North Korea stood no chance of prevailing, especially given they went into what was the final round of fixtures in Group 4 having lost 3-0 against the Soviet Union and drawn 1-1 with Chile. Italy had beaten Chile 2-0 but then lost 1-0 against the Soviet Union so were vulnerable, but they should have breezed to victory in Middlesbrough. Instead, however, they were undone just before half-time via a low shot from a little-known midfielder who is now part of pub quiz folklore: Pak Doo-ik. “The North Koreans take the lead – what a sensation!” the BBC commentator Frank Bough roared, and it really was. That North Korea held on and qualified for the quarter-finals at Italy’s expense made it even more so.

Pak Doo-ik (left) scores North Korea’s winning goal in their 1966 match against Italy . Photograph: PA

3) Argentina 1 Saudi Arabia 2, Qatar 2022

The latest World Cup may be a regrettable one but it has already produced one of the greatest upsets in the competition’s history. Saudi Arabia arrived at the Lusail Stadium ranked 51st in the world – a place below Qatar – and found themselves coming up against a team unbeaten in 36 matches, a run during which they have also become Copa América champions. They also had a certain Lionel Messi in their ranks. Argentina should have won with ease but instead were undone through a combination of their own sluggishness and a display of great togetherness and ambition by their opponents. Crucially, Hervé Renard’s men also had a cutting edge, cancelling out Messi’s 10th-minute penalty via two well-taken second-half goals, scored by Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari. Argentina reacted with increased intensity but Saudi Arabia stood firm and, eventually, were able to celebrate a result of genuine shock and awe.

4) Argentina 0 Cameroon 1, Italy 1990

As difficult as it is for football fans in their forties to accept, Italia ‘90 was not a good World Cup. What is for sure, however, is that it started with an almighty bang. Cameroon arrived at the tournament with little pedigree or form and with a squad largely made up of journeymen from France’s second division who were constantly at each other’s throats. They were in a wretched state going into the opening game in Milan and were fully expected to be hammered by the holders, who just so happened to be captained by the best player on the planet in Diego Maradona. Ultimately, however, neither he or anyone else in blue and white could pierce the wall of African defiance in front of them and were left stunned after François Omam-Biyik’s header squirted through the grasp of goalkeeper Nery Pumpido on 67 minutes. It would prove to be the winning goal and lives on as one of the most iconic, and vivid, moments in World Cup history.

François Omam-Biyik scores against Argentina, who were World Cup holders in 1990. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

5) France o Senegal 1, Korea & Japan 2002

Another opening game that saw a team from Africa kick things off in spectacular style. Appearing at their first World Cup, Senegal should have stood no chance against not only the holders but also reigning European champions. France were imperious and even without the injured Zinedine Zidane were expected to win with ease on a late May night in Seoul. But instead they were overwhelmed by positive, skilful and determined opponents largely made up of players from the middle-ranks of France’s domestic leagues. Lens’ El Hadji Diouf was Senegal’s tormentor-in-chief and it was he would assist what would prove to be the winning goal, driving down the left-wing on 30 minutes and delivering a low cross that Papa Bouba Diop put past Fabian Barthez at the second attempt. “We have achieved something extraordinary,” said Diouf afterwards. He was not wrong.

Yordan Letchkov beats Thomas Hässler to the ball to score Bulgaria’s winning goal in the 1994 quarter-final. — Yordan Letchkov beats Thomas Hässler to the ball to score Bulgaria’s winning goal in their 1994 quarter-final. Photograph: Simon Bruty/Allsport

6) Bulgaria 2 Germany 1, USA 1994

Upsets in the group stages are one thing; upsets in the knockout stages, when the bigger and better teams should well and truly be in their stride, is another. That, in part, is what makes Bulgaria’s victory over Germany in the quarter-finals of the 1994 tournament so legendary; it simply should not have happened, despite the fact Bulgaria had been performing well in the United States and contained a handful of highly talented players, no one more so than Hristo Stoichkov. Germany were the holders and this was the sharp end of proceedings; they were going to do what they so often do – win. Instead, however, they were stunned on a hot July afternoon in New Jersey as Bulgaria cancelled out a 47th-minute penalty from Lothar Matthäus via goals from Stoichkov and Yordan Letchkov, the latter remaining the greatest diving header by a balding player ever seen at a World Cup.

Category: Saudi Arabia

Messi dominates heavyweight contest but Lewandowski keeps his head | World Cup 2022

Qatar: beyond the football

Mexico miss out on last 16 on goal difference despite beating Saudi Arabia | World Cup 2022

Qatar: beyond the football

‘The greatest day of my life’: Saudi Arabia’s female fans bring the noise | World Cup 2022

Qatar: beyond the football

World Cup 2022 diary: brave Iran fans shame Fifa at Qatar’s big show | World Cup 2022

Sunday

Qatar: beyond the football

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Robert Lewandowski gets first World Cup goal as Poland beat Saudi Arabia | World Cup 2022

Qatar: beyond the football

Hidden near the dunes, Saudi Arabia plot another World Cup shock | Saudi Arabia

Qatar: beyond the football

Saudi government would back private bids for Manchester United or Liverpool | Premier League

Lionel Messi’s international career has never felt closer to oblivion | World Cup 2022

Qatar: beyond the football

‘We gave them a response’: Saudi Arabia claim their place in World Cup history | World Cup 2022

Qatar: beyond the football

Where does Saudi Arabia’s win over Argentina rank in World Cup shocks? | World Cup 2022

1) England 0 USA 1, Brazil 1950

2) Italy 0 North Korea 1, England 1966

3) Argentina 1 Saudi Arabia 2, Qatar 2022

4) Argentina 0 Cameroon 1, Italy 1990

5) France o Senegal 1, Korea & Japan 2002

6) Bulgaria 2 Germany 1, USA 1994