FIFA World Cup 2022: Day 3, Game 5, minute 53 seals first upset of WC22

A hero is made by fans And to watch him fail in front of those fans is painful Thatrsquos exactly what happened on Tuesday at the AlBidda fanzonemdashthe biggest in the region heremdashwhich began filling up as early as two hours before the Argentina v Saudi Arabia Group C encounter kicked off in the faraway Lusail StadiumThe massive fanzone complex that was initially buzzing with thousands of fans mostly Lionel Messi worshippers eventually felt like a Silence Zone as the mighty La Albiceleste bowed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 12Lionel Messi wears a dejected look during Argentinarsquos match against Saudi Arabia yesterday PicsGetty ImagesDespite the result it was a dream start for Argentina and the fanzone public with skipper Messi having his first touch saved by Saudi goalkeeper Al Owais in as early as the second minute Five minutes later the fanzone erupts as Messi steps up to take a penalty on the giant screen The spotkick is awarded by Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic following a rather questionable VAR review Rafa Krzystof a Polish fan is terribly upset with the call ldquoVAR will ruin this tournament This is cheatingrdquo he tells this correspondent with a worried look on his face Poland and Mexico are the other two teams in Group C and this match was crucial for them as a win for Argentina puts them in top position leaving the Poles and the Mexicans battling it out for second place in the group to progressMessi steps up and calmly places the ball to the goalkeeperrsquos right and all hell breaks loose at the fanzone with everyone screaming and jumping as though Argentina have already won the World CupSaudi Arabia players celebrate a goalA day earlier at the prematch presser Messi had stressed that he was in his best shape physically and that ldquothis will be my last World Cup my last chance to achieve the big dream I haverdquo Argentinarsquos early lead means the dream is well and truly onAlso ReadFIFA World Cup 2022 Netherlands beat Senegal 20 in their opening gameDi Maria fails to capitaliseAngel di Maria and Cristian Romero dazzle with their skill and movement but somehow canrsquot find the back of the Saudi Arabian net The 10 lead at halftime seems good enough for the now sweaty fans too ldquoIrsquom sure Argentina will score at least two morerdquo says Keralabased Mohammed Raza a diehard Messi fan But thatrsquos far from reality Instead the second session is a shocker for the South Americans and their faithfuls at the fanzone Four minutes into the second half with what is only their first real shot on the Argentine goal Saudi Arabiarsquos Saleh AlShehri makes it 11 AlShehrirsquos low shot in the bottom corner beats Argentine custodian Emiliano Martinez all ends up Therersquos a collective hush in the fanzone But there is still no doubt that Messi amp Co will take the lead again ldquoDi Maria deserves a goal It will come anytime nowrdquo says George Jacob another Keralite and Messi fan Again the reality is totally different Four minutes later Salem Al Dawsari shows just why hersquos considered to be among the most gifted players in Asia Al Dawsari picks up the ball inside the Argentine striking area creates an opening and slams a beautiful curler into the top corner kissing goalie Martinezrsquos glove en routeArgentine fans at the AlBidda fanzone are stunned as their team lose 12 to Saudi Arabia yesterday PicsAshwin FerroDeathly silenceThere is deathly silence in the fanzone now The unimaginable seems to be happeningmdashSaudi Arabia who are not even ranked among the worldrsquos top 50 by FIFA are well and truly threatening to end twotime world champion Argentinarsquos 36match unbeaten run There are numerous collective ldquooohs and aahsrdquo from the crowd as the Argentine players somehow try to get the ball to Messi to work his magic But itrsquos not to be and the Saudi Arabian bench sprints onto the field as soon as the final whistle is blown Krzystof the Polish fan who was initially upset with the VAR call suddenly appears with a broad smile across his face ldquoI told youhellipcheatinghellipyou donrsquot prosperrdquo he saysMahesh Raju who has a lifesize poster of Messi in his bedroom back home in Kerala sums up the match with his rather straightforward but accurate analysis ldquoArgentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the first half Messi and Lautaro Martinez twice had scored but they were correctly adjudged offside Argentina just could not breach Saudirsquos high press strategyrdquo he ruedPretournament favourites and twotime world champions Argentina must now get the better of South American rivals Mexico andor super star striker Robert Lewandowskirsquos Polish powerhouse if they wish to progress to the Round of 16 and keep Messirsquos World Cup dream aliveThe ticket price in the stadium for this game was anywhere between 100 to 300USD The experience at the fanzone was free but priceless04No of World Cup editions Lionel Messi has now scored at least one goal in