FIFA World Cup 2022: Offside traps and pure grit - How Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina and the world

When Lionel Messi calmly put the ball in the net from the penalty spot against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, it seemed business as usual for Argentina. The Latin American giants featured in almost every list of teams favoured to win the FIFA World Cup 2022 trophy and against a side ranked 51st in the world, Messi & Co were heavily favoured to run riot. However, it seemed like no one gave Saudi Arabia the script as the Asian powerhouse produced a performance to remember with goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari guiding them to the most memorable win in their history.

RECORDS AND CONTROVERSIES

With a forward line boasting of mega stars like Messi, Angel Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez, Argentina had no difficulties in controlling the game from the very first kick. They kept attacking the Saudi defense with quick passing and the breakthrough finally came as Saud Abdulhamid wrestling Leandro Parades to the ground inside the penalty area. Messi had no difficulties in opening the account for his side and becoming the first Argentine player to score four goals in four World Cups.

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However, it was the penalty decision was not without its controversies. It once again sparked the VAR’s inconsistency when it comes to deciding penalty decisions in case of player scuffles. Portuguese legend Figo compared the foul to a similar one committed against Harry Maguire during England’s game against Iran and even went on to say that it is completely fair in a “contact sport”.

TRAPPED AT THE BACK

The goal further bolstered Argentina’s confidence and over the next 30 minutes, the ball ended up in the Saudi net three times. However, none of them officially counted as the Argentine attackers were judged offside every time. While the press from Argentina seemed almost constant, Saudi Arabia stuck to the strategy that has become a trademark of manager Herve Renard.

Despite conceding an early goal, the four Saudi defenders - Saud Abdulhamid, Hassan Tambakti, Ali Al-Bulayhi and Yasser Al-Shahrani – kept holding a very high line and that meant the opposition forwards were constantly kept in doubt regarding their positioning at the start of an attack. The plan worked as Argentina were left frustrated as they were caught offside eight times within 45 minutes.

TEN MINUTES OF GENIUS

With Argentina going all out for the second goal, the Saudi attackers started finding spaces against the full backs Nahuel Molina and Nicolas Tagliafico. There were a couple of tame attempts in the first half, but Al Hilal striker Shehri suddenly found himself in an advantageous position against center back Christian Romero. The striker successfully went past Romero from the left and a well-placed shot was enough to beat Emiliano Martinez and spark wild celebrations among the fans.

The Saudi fans seemed to have found their voice for the first time in the game and the sound almost felt like a catalyst for their nationalteam. Five minutes later, the unthinkable happened. Dawsari received the ball on the edge of the penalty box and was able to dodge past two Argentina defenders. With De Paul lunging for a tackle, he took a curling right foot shot and as if in slow motion, it sailed past Martinez’s outstretched hands and landed in the bottom corner of the goal.

OVERDEPENDANCE AND PURE GRIT

This was not supposed to happen, and Argentina seemed totally unprepared for this situation. The overdependence on the attacking trio meant that nearly all attacks had a set pattern and with Saudi players sitting deep, almost all passings channels were affected. Both Paredes and De Paul failed to make proper runs into the Saudi penalty box and although the introduction of Marcos Acuna in place of Tagliafico did boost the wing play, Argentina faced a new challenge - Mohammed Al-Owais.

The Saudi goalkeeper did not have much to do in the first half despite Argentina launching multiple attacks. Officially, the first shot on goal for Argentina came just before the 60-minute mark in the game if we do not count Messi’s penalty. The compact setting on the central defence meant that Argentina were forced to rely mainly on crosses and headers to attack his goal but Al-Owais was up to the challenge. Both Messi and substitute Julian Alvarez had chances to level the score towards the end of the match, but the Saudi goalkeeper held his ground and ended up making four crucial saves.

It was, by no stretch, a bad performance by Argentina. However, in front of the discipline and grit of Saudi Arabia, Messi and Co seemed almost clueless while trying to come up a viable Plan B.