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Argentina’s Lionel Messi reacts disappointed during the World Cup group C soccer match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar. (AP)
EIGHT SECONDS short of 14 minutes in stoppage time, the referee blew his whistle. It could have been the most beautiful tune that Saudi Arabia’s tenacious wonder-men would have heard in their lives. Some of them knelt and kissed the boot-crushed grass of the Lusail Stadium. Some spread their arms to catch hold of their leaping teammates. Some sprinted to a section of the joyous crowd, furiously waving the country’s flag and hurling their jerseys.
How they found the energy to celebrate was baffling. For, they had shed every drop of sweat, stretched every sinew of muscle and expended every ounce of courage in grinding out one of the most shocking defeats in World Cup history. [Read more]
