World Cups are usually won by elite sides, but there are still seismic shocks. What’s it like to be on the winning end of a massive upset?
— For a competition that’s usually won by a global heavyweight, the World Cup is still the place for shocks. But even in a tournament that can throw up one or two surprises, Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 victory over Argentina on Tuesday still managed to stun the planet.
The result at the Lusail Stadium was so unexpected that it immediately started the debate about whether it is now the World Cup’s biggest upset of all time. Cameroon, who beat holders Argentina in 1990, or Senegal, who got the better of reigning champions France in 2002, might have something to say about that over time, but Herve Renard’s side are now very much part of the conversation.
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“We made history for Saudi football; it will stay forever,” Renard said. “When you are coming to the World Cup, you need to believe in yourself. Everything can happen in football.”
Lionel Messi’s response was one of shock — he said his Argentina side were “dead” after Tuesday’s result — and respect for the underdogs who took down one of the presumed favourites to win it all.
“We knew that Saudi Arabia is a team with good players, that they move the ball well and that they push the [defensive] line a lot. We worked on it, but we rushed a bit. We have to go back to the base of who we are. We have to think about what’s next.”
“I am very happy about this result that we have been able to obtain against this very storied team,” said Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Mohammed Alowais. “We have prepared ourselves. We were 100% ready and hopefully we will have better results in the future. I felt we were especially good in the last minutes because we secured our three points.”
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According to sources, Saudi Arabia are putting part of their success down to their preparation after securing what they believe is the best training ground in Qatar at Sealine Beach.
