‘Off the Richter Scale’: Saudi’s victory over Argentina was football at its glorious best

Saudi Arabia’s Salem Al-Dawsari celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during their World Cup match against Argentina at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail on Tuesday. (AP)

• For those present at a shaking Lusail Stadium, the Green Falcons’ historic 2-1 win was a visceral experience like no other
• It was a goal that also reverberated around the Arab world

DOHA: There are still 26 days left in this World Cup, including all the finals, and I am not sure anything will come close to matching what we witnessed at the Lusail Stadium on Tuesday afternoon, when Saudi Arabia caused one of the greatest World Cup upsets to stun Argentina 2-1 with goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari.
How do you begin to put that into words?
Over 24 hours have passed since the game finished and I still do not have the words to describe what we witnessed. And not just witnessed, but what we felt, because being there was a visceral experience. It is three hours that will live long inside one’s very being.
It was joy, it was disbelief, it was sheer jubilation. It was football at its glorious best. It was, quite simply, the World Cup.
When Al-Dawsari curled in a goal-of-the-tournament contender to give Saudi Arabia a 2-1 lead over the tournament favorites, it was not just the Argentine fans who were shaken, the foundations of the Lusail Stadium shook beneath our feet.
It was a goal that also reverberated around the Arab world. This was not just a win for Saudi Arabia, this was a win for Arab football. No goal has arguably meant so much to this part of the world than Al-Dawsari’s wonder strike.
Videos filled social media of reactions from all over the Arab world, from Iraq to Sudan and everywhere in-between. It was as if their own national team had been on the pitch.
The win, arguably the biggest in Saudi Arabian history, was not just felt in the Arab world, it sent shockwaves around the world after two days of what can only be described as humiliation for Asian nations. The limp performances of Qatar and Iran had the world questioning the quality of football on this continent.
Hours before kickoff, the surrounds of the imposing and visually spectacular Lusail Stadium were heaving to the sound of songs in both Spanish and Arabic, with Saudi fans giving as good as anything offered up by the world-famous Argentine fans.
People who arrived in Qatar with the closed-mind mentality that there is no football culture in this part of the world would have received a rude awakening.
The newly-built Metro to the stadium was completely jam-packed for hours leading up to the game. Such was the expectation of an Argentine win that Saudi fans were happily settling for a 0-0 draw in their pre-match banter with their opponent’s supporters. Fans of La Albiceleste, and there were a lot (was anyone left in Argentina?), were not so keen on the idea.
Little did they know what was to come. I am sure they would happily take a 0-0 outcome now.
Once inside the stadium decibel levels rose to a new level. This felt like the day Qatar 2022 truly came alive. Before the teams walked out the two sets of fans traded songs, slowly increasing the intensity as kickoff approached.
Who said there was no atmosphere or vibe at this tournament? Anyone who still thinks that clearly was not inside the Lusail Stadium, but some people only see what they want to see.
Saudi Arabia have won Asian Cups. They have made the knockout rounds of previous World Cups. But nothing, no moment in their history will come close to eclipsing what happened on Tuesday afternoon.
Until now Saeed Al-Owairan’s goal in 1994 had been the defining moment for Saudi Arabia in their World Cup history. No longer. Now it is all about Al-Dawsari’s scorcher.
The sight of Yasser Al-Shahrani being stretchered off deep into injury time epitomized the Saudi effort on the pitch. They had given everything — blood, sweat and tears — for this cause. They were leaving nothing out on the pitch.
And neither were their fans in the stands. The official crowd number was 88,012, but I am sure in years to come 100,000-plus will claim they were there.
When Al-Shehri scored to equalize just minutes into the second half, if Lusail Stadium had a roof it would have been blown right off and landed somewhere near Riyadh.
I received a text in a chat group from back home in Australia at that moment asking me what the atmosphere was like.
“Off the Richter scale!!!” I replied.
When Al-Dawsari put the Green Falcons ahead a few minutes later, I commented again.
“There is no scale to measure this. This noise is on another level.”
Another level is an apt way to describe the entire experience. It is one that will never be forgotten.