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Rob Dawsonreporter
LUSAIL, Qatar — For a competition usually won by a global heavyweight, the World Cup is still a place for shocks. But even in a tournament that can produce a surprise or two, Saudi Arabiawin 2-1 first Argentina on Tuesday still managed to stun the planet.
The result at Lusail Stadium was so unexpected that it immediately started the debate as to whether this was the World Cup’s greatest disappointment of all time. Cameronwho beat defending champion Argentina in 1990, or SenegalWho is the better player than the defending champions? France back in 2002, there may have been something to say about that from time to time, but the Herve Renard side is now part of the conversation.
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Renard said: “We have made history for Saudi football, it will last forever. “When you come to the World Cup, you need to believe in yourself. Anything is possible in football.”
Lionel Messihis response was one of shock — he say his Argentina team was “dead” after Tuesday’s results — and respect for the weaker teams knocked out one of the arguably favorite contenders to win.
“We know that Saudi Arabia is a team with good players, they move the ball well and they push fast. [defensive] line a lot. We’ve been working on it, but we’re in a bit of a hurry. We have to go back to our human base. We have to think about what’s next.”
“I’m very happy about this result we were able to get against this traditionally rich team,” said Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Alowais. “We have prepared ourselves. We are 100% ready and hopefully we will have better results in the future. I felt we were especially good in the last minutes because we won three. the point.”
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According to sources, Saudi Arabia is putting part of their success in their preparations after securing what they believe is the best training ground in Qatar at Sealine Beach. The facility, about an hour’s drive south of Doha, was secured more than three years ago, long before other qualifiers began vying for hotels and turf. As a team selected exclusively from the domestic league, they were also able to play four warm-ups in the past month before the start of the World Cup. In contrast, Argentina, which still had players playing domestic matches around Europe on November 13, managed to play just one match against the UAE.
Saudi Arabia, ranked 51st in the world, probably still doesn’t expect much in their opening game against one of the pre-tournament favorites, but the stats show they have every reason to be. aiming for a spot in the knockout round even before heading to Qatar. .
It’s not uncommon for teams to make it through to the round of 16 after being placed third or fourth in their group. At the last World Cup in Russia, Denmark, Switzerland and Japan all advanced despite being placed outside the top two seeds while five of the top eight seeds failed to win their group.
Holders are even worse. The World Cup has not been reorganized since 1962, and in the past 14 tournaments, the defending champions have only twice reached the semi-finals of the next tournament. France went to Qatar as holders knowing that four of the previous five champions had been eliminated in groups.
In 2010, New Zealand managed to make one of the biggest shocks at the World Cup by drawing the champions. Italy, who finished at the bottom of their table, with a 1-1 draw. Similar to Saudi Arabia, Ricki Herbert, who coached the Kiwi team in that tournament, told ESPN that the key to winning results against one of world football’s heavyweights is preparation. .
“We looked at potential areas where we believe we can exploit and maximize the strengths that we can deliver overnight,” he said. “Confidence, faith, courage and discipline are among the key factors. We wanted to start the game well and make sure we made it difficult for the Italian team in any given century. We don’t want to give them a chance to start to decide strongly on the game.
“It was certainly a stellar performance by the whole team over the course of 90 minutes, and the result made New Zealand a household name throughout the football world. Personally, it was an invaluable moment. proud together.”
Aliou Cisse, who played for Senegal in the 2002 opening match against France in south Korea and now managing his country in Qatar, says part of the strategy has to be accepting that you can’t go head-to-head against teams with the best players in the world.
“You have to defend well and be good at controlling the ball when you have it,” he said before his team’s defeat first Netherlands in Monday. “But you have to defend when you have to defend.”
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Saudi Arabia certainly did it against Argentina, showing why they were able to keep six clean sheets throughout qualifying and top a group that included Japan and Australia Although he only scored 12 goals in 10 matches. Renard said after the win over Argentina that he would give his players just “20 minutes” to celebrate, although some did start by playing music through portable speakers as they grinned across the area. mixture.
Renard said: “A great celebration for 20 minutes and that was it. “There are still two games or more for us. We need to think about going forward because we still have two very difficult matches. [against Poland and Mexico].”
Thousands of Saudi fans have crossed the border to Qatar in hopes of seeing their team play, or even better, their performance in 1994 when they made it to the round of 16 and if they come That’s it, now they’ll like their chance before anyone else. King Salman even declared Wednesday a public holiday in Saudi Arabia, a royal order proposed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, so that the country can celebrate.
In 2018, Russia defeated Spain eliminated in the second round despite being 60 places behind them on the world rankings. This remains the biggest disappointment in the knockout rounds since FIFA implemented the rating system and reminded that, at the World Cup, anything can happen. Just ask Argentina.
