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Day 3 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup gifted us some massive moments and a couple of scoreless draws. Argentina, with Lionel Messi leading the charge and sitting with third shortest odds (+650) to win the entire tournament, were stunned 2-1 by Saudi Arabia. The Saudis came back from one goal down to score twice early in the second half and had their keeper Mohammed Al Yami produce huge saves. Our Igor Mello listed it among the top five upsets in tournament history, and it would be first or second in my book.
In other action, the doubts about France appear gone as despite some of their big names being out with injuries. They rocked Australia with a prolific, dynamic performance in attack.
Here’s a look at the day’s scores and takeaways from all the action — and while you’re at it, sign up for our new newsletter covering the beautiful game in all its glory, including daily updates about the World Cup, here.
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World Cup scores for Tuesday
Saudi Arabia 2, Argentina 1Denmark 0, Tunisia 0Mexico 0, Poland 0France 4, Australia 1
France appear fine without injured stars
No Paul Pogba, Karim Benzema or N’Golo Kante? No problem. France don’t have the trio of superstars with them in Qatar due to injury, but you could hardly notice in the 4-1 win over the Aussies. France looked darn good after a slow start, and while the defense had a couple of poor moments, the attack was electric, scoring twice in each half.
Antoine Griezmann dipped deep into the midfield to get things going after they trailed just nine minutes in, and it instantly became an opening game where France were able to attack at will. Didier Deschamps’ team finished with 23 shots and seven on target.
The scoreline, not flattering at all for Australia, could have been much worse. Kylian Mbappe scored once and Olivier Giroud scored twice to tie Thierry Henry for first in France’s all-time scoring list, but both missed golden opportunities in front of goal that would have blown the doors off the game.
Still, they managed to quell any concerns over the champions curse of just how good this group can be. The answer is pretty, pretty good after the first 90 minutes.
It’s panic time for Argentina
Messi may have been calm in the mixed zone after the game, but I’m here to tell you it’s time to worry. Despite not having lost in three years and coming off of Copa America glory, Argentina looked stale.There were some rumblings that the team was not as fit as they would have liked to have been for this game, and it seemed to check out because they played as if they were a completely different team than the dominant one we had seen lately.
“We expected to get the three points that would have given us calmness,” Messi told reporters after the match. “Things happen for a reason. We have to prepare for what is coming. We have to win, and it depends on us.
“There are no excuses. We are going to be more united than ever. This group is strong, and we have shown it. It is a situation that we haven’t gone through in a long time. Now we have to show that this is a real group.
There is no sugarcoating it — Argentina were outplayed for the entire second half. Saudi Arabia were compact with a tricky offside trap, they fought for one another, applied pressure and occupied space to give this attack serious problems.
“It’s a painful loss but we have to continue to trust ourselves,” Messi said. “We must turn the page and move on. We have to analyze what went wrong. Focus on the positives and turn our attention to the game against Mexico.”
That game against Mexico could see Argentina crash out if they don’t best former manager Tata Martino. But expect to see some significant changes in the starting XI for the next game. Rodrigo de Paul put together a horrendous outing with several mistakes in the middle, Leandro Paredes had no control over the game, and Nahuel Molina brought next to nothing. It could be a chance to see Alexis Mac Allister create in attack, and guys like Angel Correa and Geronimo Rulli should be ready for a do-or-die situation.
Saudi Arabia were the least talented team in the group, and losing this gives Argentina no margin for error the rest of the way.
Goalkeepers, not goal scorers, take center stage
What a day it was for those in goal. Meme Ochoa balled out for Mexico, denying a Robert Lewandowski penalty kick to earn El Tri a point. And what can you say about Mohammed Al Yami for the Saudis? He made five saves, including a couple really good ones, most notably the early stop on Messi’s low shot. When you have a good goalkeeper, you can grind out some surprising results and both did that on this day.