The world was shocked when Saudi Arabia FC beat Argentina FC by 2-1. The match that was held in Lusail Stadium was going as expected, with Argentina leading all the way. With one penalty goal and plenty of chances, it seemed like La Albiceleste would win with ease.
However, right after half-time, everything turned around for the South American team when the middle eastern squad came out a lot stronger after the half-time. While the Argentinians performed worse than in the first half, Saudi really played like a winning squad. Saudi’s commitment aside, which we have no doubt, there were a lot of technical difficulties.

Although it is not wise to say that Argentina lost just because VAR was far too good, there raised a lot of questions concerning the accuracy and relevancy of the system. Now, after a couple of days since one of the biggest upsets in any World Cup Finals, the news is emerging saying that Lautaro Martinez’s chipped effort was wrongfully given offside.
In a bunch of images presented by Flashscore, it seemed like VAR didn’t look at Saudi’s defender Yasser Alshahrani who apparently kept the Inter Milan forward onside. If we take a close look at the images, it was Lionel Messi, who was offside, however, he didn’t interfere with the play.
gol anulado a Lautaro Martínez por offside pic.twitter.com/boaCficJ4I
— Argentina Gol (@BocaJrsGolArg01) November 22, 2022
The goal that was ‘wrongly’ given offside would’ve made a huge difference for the World Cup hopeful, Argentina. If the goal had been allowed, the 2021 Copa America winner might have won the match but here we are. This goes on to show that VAR still has a long way to go and frankly speaking, Football was better when there was no machine interaction.
Meanwhile, Argentina captain Messi, despite having three of their goals disallowed, didn’t blame the loss on the on-field decisions but rather on their own shortcomings. He also urged each and every one of his countrymen to ‘be more united than ever.’