It was shortly after 9 a.m., and Argentinians everywhere were emerging from being riveted to their televisions, peering into the brilliant morning sun and wondering aloud whether they had just awakened from a nightmare. In actuality, it was their dream of winning the World Cup that had just been brutally dashed.
“We lost the game due to our faults, particularly in the second half,” a visibly upset but strangely collected Lautaro Martnez told the cameras immediately following the final whistle.
It had been almost a hundred minutes of one of the most surprising World Cup dramas ever. Argentina, headed by Lionel Messi and widely regarded as the game’s top team, surrendered a 1-0 lead to Saudi Arabia, which was placed last in the competition.
Martnez continued, “There were [little] elements that made the difference, and we need to focus on those and correct those faults.”
Without a doubt, this is one of Argentina’s worst World Cup beginnings ever. Some are taking consolation in the fact that in 1990, an overconfident team with Diego Maradona and Claudio Caniggia surprisingly lost to a Cameroon team that nearly scored. Argentina reached the championship game that year.
The nation was in a somber atmosphere, with both the viewing public and the TV experts remaining quiet. There was none of the hatred frequently directed at the players; none of the accusatory armchair manager yelling about who should have replaced who, who should have played further back or to the left… just absolute disbelief, horror, and despair.
Jero Freixas, alluding to all the VAR calls and disallowed goals for Argentina in the first half, summed up the experience of the majority well when he said, “I shouted a lot of goals, but we lost.”
Freixas appeals to a young audience, and he urged Lionel Scaloni’s squad to fight harder than ever before. “We must assist them,” he wrote. We must support them because this team has brought us immense joy. Nobody desires victory as much as they do, yet they are perhaps the most dejected.”
Daniel Arcucci, a senior football journalist, stated that it was part and parcel of attending the World Cup. These events occur, he stated. “The greatest game of their lives for the underdog and the worst game of their lives for the favorites.” Today, Saudi Arabia evoked recollections of Cameroon. Today was the match Scaloni predicted would occur one day.”
Alejandro Wall of the Argentine newspaper Tiempo wrote: “Saudi Arabia imposed itself. They energized the game and the crowd, erasing any Argentinian characteristics. This is a devastating loss for the national team, possibly the worst defeat of the Scaloni era, and it occurred in the opening encounter of the World Cup.”
It could have been a completely different story without VAR. However, we now have VAR, and this is football. “We should have scored more than one goal in the first half, but this is the World Cup and we now face two championship games,” Martnez remarked.
Scaloni and Messi ultimately emerged to face the press and stated that they were aware that Saudi Arabia would play for offside. They acknowledged that they were aware, although…
However, there appeared to be little enthusiasm for a forensic tactical investigation at this time. The nation, including supporters, analysts, and possibly even the team, appears to have given itself a brief period of mourning to absorb the emotional blow.
In contrast to other tumultuous periods in the history of our country’s tense relationship with the national team, the affection that has existed since the Copa América was carried home 16 months ago has not diminished. Yet.
There was a sense that the correct team started the game, that the players made no glaring errors, and that the changes were perfect. As the second half progressed, the developing stars Enzo Fernández and Julián lvarez displayed the composure and fortitude that their more seasoned teammates appeared to have lost.
However, there is no doubt that this was unexpected. For the team and the lauded coach, as well as for the nation.
It is in one of its most precarious economic conditions in recent memory, with inflation soaring, and until this morning, everyone had hoped to suspend daily life and focus solely on the World Cup mission. One minister stated, “Inflation can wait; first we must win the championship.”
