MANILA, Philippines – That stunning and marvelous 2-1 win by Saudi Arabia over Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Tuesday night will give the world pause to look at Middle Eastern football in a different way now.
Previously, I remember Saudi Arabia for their 4-0 loss to France in 1998 and their 8-0 thrashing at the hands of Germany four years later.
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As for Argentina, this was the second time they lost in stunning fashion. During the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Diego Maradona lost 1-0 to Cameroon.
Cameroon topped the group but lost to England in the quarters. Argentina recovered to make the finals where they lost to West Germany.
While it is a great win and I am happy for Saudi Arabia, it remains to be seen if this is just one of those “it was just their day” or it signals a shift in the Kingdom’s football status.
When I think of football in this part of the world, I think of Algeria and Egypt.
However, if you look at Saudi Arabia, after their 5-0 loss to Russia in 2018, they played better. They lost to Uruguay 1-0 and Egypt, 2-1.
During second round qualification for this World Cup, Saudi Arabia (ranked No. 51 in the world) was in a group that included Uzbekistan, Palestine, Singapore and Yemen.
They topped the group with a 6-2-0 slate and as a result, they advanced to the third round of qualifying matches. A group that included Japan (No. 24 in the world), Australia (No. 38), Oman (No. 75), China (No. 79) and Vietnam (No. 96).
They went 7-2-1, losing only to Japan as they topped their group with Japan and Australia coming in second and third, respectively. Saudi Arabia and Japan automatically qualified while Australia had to go through a fourth round of qualifying matches.
They too were the second best defensive team of the group behind Japan.
Their performance in the qualifiers is a tantalizing preview to their win over Argentina.
During the two rounds of qualifiers, Saudi Arabia scored 15 goals in the first half. The second half? They were better, scoring 19 goals.
Only thrice were they held scoreless — by Palestine, Japan and Australia.
During the build-up to Qatar, in terms of friendlies, Saudi Arabia went 1-2-1. The only loss was to Luka Modric’s Croatia.
Another huge reason for their recent success is their French coach Herve Renard. As a player for Cannes, Renard was a defensive player. And his tactical nous saw him oversee Zamia and Ivory Coast winning the African Nations Cup in 2012 and 2015 respectively.
The man knows how to build winners.
Against Argentina, after looking nervous in the early stages of the match, they kept their 4-3-3 shape.
Argentina made a fatal mistake when three of their goals were disallowed for being offside. In fact, they were flagged for being offside 10 times. Saudi Arabia adjusted their defense and no longer found themselves being beaten on the offside trap by Lautaro Martinez and Lionel Messi. Saudi Arabia adjusted to what Argentina was doing.
Despite going down early after a Lionel Messi penalty kick, they made their adjustments and went forward in the second half.
Not only did they press but they committed more bodies forward. This is something that Qatar should have done against Ecuador. You aren’t Italy that could afford to sit back and really hurt their foe on the counter. You go forward.
It didn’t help that the only two creative forces for Argentina — Angel di Maria and Messi were checked after that. You have a problem when the player who makes the most passes is Nicolas Otamendi, a defender who made 86 passes.
After Saleh Al-Shehri scored in the 48th minute, they survived Argentina’s initial response then scored a second goal in the 53rd minute with a superb shot by Salem Al-Dawsari.
After that, Argentina played with an air of desperation while Saudi Arabia continued to go forward when they could but play resolute defense. And no one was bigger than goal keeper Mohammed al-Owais who saved shot after shot.
Now, the world will watch how Saudi Arabia goes against Poland at 9 p.m. Saturday, November 26, at the Education City Stadium.
The match will be televised on TapGo TV’s World Cup TV (on Skycable and on the TapGo TV application).