Mohammed Al-Owais: The Saudi David that slayed the Argentine Goliath
As the dust settles on Argentina’s shock defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening match of the Qatar World Cup, Albiceleste fans around the world must be asking themselves one question.
“How on earth did we lose to Saudi Arabia?”
This question doesn’t have a straightforward answer.
Saudi’s disciplined defence, their brave decision to go with a high defensive line and the lack of creativity from the Argentina midfield, all played a part in one of the biggest if not the biggest upset in the history of the FIFA World Cup.
The two goals Saudi Arabia scored in the match, from the boots of Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Aldawasari, were not run-of-the-mill goals but spectacular strikes that deserve a special mention.
But Saudi Arabia’s real hero of the match was their last line of defence, their goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais, who saved them from conceding on multiple occasions and was rightfully named the player of the match.
Al-Owais, a 31-year-old goalkeeper from Saudi club Al-Hilal, is not a name widely known in world football.
On Tuesday, he had one of the toughest tasks an international goalkeeper can have, keeping an Argentine attack that consists the likes of Lionel Messi, Angel De Maria and Lautaro Martinez from scoring a goal.
The match didn’t begin in an auspicious manner for the goalkeeper either. In just the 10th minute, he conceded against Messi, who sent him down the wrong way from the penalty spot and gave Argentina an early lead.
Al-Owais would see the ball go to the back of his net thrice more in the first half, but all of those goals were ruled out due to being off-side.
Al-Owaisi emerged as Saudi Arabia’s hero in the second half, after they took the lead with two goals in space of five minutes.
Argentina were inches away from levelling the margin in the 63rd minute, when a header from Lisandor Martinez deflected from Nicolas Tagliafio's knees and was headed towards the goal.
But Al-Owaisi’s incredible reflexes saved Saudi Arabia’s lead as he dashed to his right, adjusting to the new direction of the ball and saved a certain goal.
Argentina’s attempt to level the scores didn’t end there. Six minutes later, Lautaro headed a cross from Messi to the left corner of the Saudi post. But once again Al-Owaisi came to Saudi Arabia’s rescue, diving to his left and grabbing the ball with both hands.
Al-Owaisi grew in confidence with every save. It was especially apparent in the 74th minute, when he charged outside of his box to clear a ball from under Lautaro’s feet, saving Saudi Arabia from a threatening situation.
He stayed vigilant for the rest of the minutes, not allowing Argentina breach his goal post and earned Saudi Arabia its most famous win in their football history.
In the process, Al-Owais also etched his name in history as the goalkeeper that made sure Argentina began the 2022 World Cup with its most embarrassing defeat in recent memory.