After each matchday of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Sportsnet.ca’s World Cup Daily blog will recap the day’s events and look ahead to the next day’s slate of games.
Here’s what happened on Tuesday, in case you missed it…
THE RESULTS
Argentina 1, Saudi Arabia 2 in Lusail: Match report || Match stats
Denmark 0, Tunisia 0 in Al Rayyan: Match report || Match stats
Mexico 0, Poland 0 in Doha: Match report || Match stats
France 4, Australia 1 in Al Wakrah: Match report || Match stats
MAIN TALKING POINTS
The biggest World Cup upsets in 20 years
Lionel Messi is on record as saying he plans to retire from international soccer after this World Cup is over. That day might come sooner than he would like following Argentina’s shocking 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in Group C play. Argentina, No. 3 in the current FIFA world rankings, were touted as one of the pre-tournament favourites, and expected to brush aside the 51-ranked Saudis without too much trouble.
But the Arab nation pulled off the biggest upset at the World Cup since Senegal stunned then-reigning champions France at the 2002 tournament, snapping Argentina’s 35-game unbeaten run and handing the South Americans their first loss in international play to a team ranked outside of the top 50 in over a decade.
Full credit must be given to Saudi Arabia, whose bend-but-don’t-break defence frustrated Argentina’s attacking intentions for most of the match and limited their scoring chances from open play. In particular, centre back Hassan Altambakti was outstanding for the Saudis, and made an amazing tackle on Messi inside his penalty area that prevented a sure goal by the Argentine.
Lady luck also played a part in the Saudis’ upset win – twice in the first half Argentine forward Lautaro Martínez appeared to give his country a 2-0 lead, but both times the goals were wiped out for offside after a VAR review. The South American champions also didn’t help their cause by fielding an aging starting 11 that featured a World Cup-record four players who were 34 years or older (Messi, Nicolás Otamendi, Ángel Di María and Papu Gómez). Not surprisingly, Argentina couldn’t keep up with Saudi Arabia during a fast-paced match and ran out of gas in the dying minutes as it tried in vain for an equalizer.
World Cup champs France pours on the style
Tuesday looked like it was going to be a day of upsets in Qatar when Saudi Arabia set the table with its improbable win over Argentina. France had other ideas, though, even after Australia stormed out of the gate to take a 1-0 lead in their Group D contest. The Socceroos had the reigning World Cup champions on the rack thanks to their bristling pace before Les Bleus quickly settled down. The natural order was soon restored when the French took a 2-1 lead going into halftime off goals from Adrien Rabiot and Olivier Giroud. Kylian Mbappé and Giroud scored second-half goals to complete the comeback effort by France.
You have to hand it to the French. Unlike Argentina, they didn’t lose their composure or panic after going down by a goal. Instead, they remained focused and started getting the better of Australia with their smart pressing game and quick ball movement. A perfect example came on the winning goal when Rabiot won possession off an Australian defender deep inside his half, and then broke into the box after latching onto a gorgeous back-heeled pass from Mbappé. The ball wasn’t at the Juventus midfielder’s feet for long, playing a square pass for Giroud to slot home from close range.
Manager Didier Deschamps was forced into a change in the 13th minute with his team still trailing after defender Lucas Hernandez limped off the pitch. Hernandez’s exit had the potential to be a disaster for France, who came into this World Cup missing several key players due to injury. But his younger brother Theo Hernandez came in and instantly helped solidify a French back line that had struggled to deal with Australia’s speedy attack up to that point. It was smooth sailing for the World Cup champions after that.
GOAL OF THE DAY
Four minutes after Saleh Alshehri tied things up for Saudi Arabia, Salem Aldawsari brilliantly controlled a high ball that came down just inside Argentina’s penalty area, spun around and blew past Leandro Paredes before driving a low, powerful shot that nestled inside the far post.
MOMENT OF THE DAY
How great was it to see Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen, who nearly died after suffering a cardiac arrest during a match at last summer’s European Championship, back on the pitch and playing in his third World Cup?
Honourable mention: Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa’s penalty save on Robert Lewandowski of Poland.
Another honourable mention: France’s Stephanie Frappart becoming the first female referee in a men’s World Cup match when she worked the Mexico-Poland match as the fourth official.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The truth? Dead. It’s a very hard blow because we did not expect to start in this way.” – Argentina’s Lionel Messi, when asked how he felt after his team’s painful start to this World Cup.
SIX PACK OF STATS
• Lionel Messi is only the fifth player to score at four different World Cups (2006, 2014, 2018, 2022). Pele, Uwe Seeler, Miroslav Klose and Cristiano Ronaldo are the others.
• Argentina lost a World Cup match that it was leading at halftime for the first time since the 1930 final against Uruguay.
• There was one 0-0 draw during the entire 2018 World Cup in Russia. This year’s tournament in Qatar eclipsed that amount after only three days.
• Robert Lewandowski hasn’t scored in any of his four World Cup games for Poland, failing with all 11 shots (four on target) he has attempted in the tournament.
• Mexico has not lost a World Cup opening match in its previous seven appearances (five wins). The last six times, it went on to advance out of the group stage.
• Adrien Rabiot is the first France player to score and collect an assist in his World Cup debut since Christophe Dugarry against South Africa in 1998.
Stats courtesy of Opta
SPORTSNET IN QATAR
Sportsnet.ca contributor Peter Galindo is in Qatar covering the World Cup. He was at Tuesday’s game between Australia and France and took notice of this:
THREE STARS OF THE DAY
1) Kylian Mbappé, France: The PSG striker’s pace and acceleration was just too much for Australia’s defence to handle, as he scored one goal and collected an assist.
2) Andreas Christensen, Denmark: The centre back was a defensive dynamo for the Danes, registering one tackle, a clearance, an interception and four blocks vs. Tunisia. He also completed 96 per cent of his passes.
3) Olivier Giroud, France: He bagged a brace to Thierry Henry as France country’s all-time top scorer with 51 goals.
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEDNESDAY
The 36-year wait for Canada will come to an end when it takes on Belgium in Group F action in Al Rayyan. The Canadian men made their World Cup debut in 1986 in Mexico when they bowed out of the tournament with three shutout losses. Can John Herdman’s team score or earn Canada’s first World Cup point on Wednesday against a Belgian side that reached the semifinals four years ago and is ranked No 2 in the world?
<hr>
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.
