It was thought that the “Maradonesque” ride of Saeed Al-Owairan, a day of surprise victory against Belgium (1-0), in June 1994 in Washington (United States), would forever remain the only strong image of Saudi football in the World Cup. It was without counting on the band to Hervé Renard, who has just achieved an XXL feat, this Tuesday in Doha, beating the Argentina of Lionel Messi (1-2), one of the great favorites of the competition.
Quickly led (1-0) by a penalty from the PSG striker, Saudi Arabia amazed everyone by overthrowing the Albiceleste at the start of the second half thanks to Saleh Al-Shehri (1-1, 49th) then Salem Al-Dawsari (1-2, 53rd). We let you appreciate the incredible strike of the latter, 31-year-old midfielder from Al-Hilal.
Surrounded by Di Maria, De Paul and Paredes, on the left side of the Argentine surface, Salem Al-Dawsari struggles to find a shooting angle, and sends a remarkable golazo in the skylight of Emiliano Martinez, who can only touch the ball. With a somersault bonus tracks in a stadium of Lusail in a trance, we hold the absolute sensation of this start of the World Cup in Qatar.