No Mac Allister, no party: Argentina shocked by Saudi Arabia

Oh dear. Argentina found out the hard way what happens when you leave Alexis Mac Allister as an unused substitute as they were on the end of the biggest shocks in World Cup history when losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia.

In a performance which had all the hallmarks of Brighton under Glow Up Graham in the 2020-21 season, Argentina dominated in every metric apart from the one that matters most – putting the ball in the back of the net.

Argentina had 69 percent possession, 15 shots, six on target and won nine corners. Their xG was 2.27 compared to 0.14 for Saudi Arabia. For further context, England’s xG during their 6-2 win over Iran the day before was only 2.24.

For Mac Allister of course, this would have been an all-too familiar tale having been part of Brighton’s xG nightmare campaign of two years ago.

The only silver lining being that Argentina will surely come under pressure to make changes with their World Cup ambitions hanging by a thread.

That could bring Mac Allister into the starting XI for their next game with Mexico on Saturday; one they have to win.

A small consolation for those of us whose Tuesday World Cup accumulators were out the window before midday. Or for those who have backed Argentina to win the whole thing.

They may not even get out of the group, although a draw between Mexico and Poland will have gone down well with Mac Allister and co.

Things were going all to plan when Lionel Messi put Argentina ahead from the penalty spot after 10 minutes. There were then three Argentina goals disallowed for offside, making you wonder if Neal Maupay had switched nationality and received a shock call up without telling anyone.

Saudi Arabia opting to play such a high defensive line was ridiculously bold, like sticking everything on green at the Hellspin Casino.

It provided an even bigger shock than Albion supporters had when the Brighton back three were positioned well inside Liverpool’s half in Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge.

Those offside decisions attest to the fact that Saudi Arabia’s braveness worked. And they then turned the game on its head with two goals in the space of 10 minutes early in the second half.

Saleh Al Shehri levelled with a low and hard effort followed by an utterly outrageous goal from outside the area via Salem Al Dawsari.

Still, nobody expected Saudi Arabia to hold on and beheading into the final 20 minutes with their lead intact against the second-favourites to win the whole tournament.

As it dawned on Argentina that they were about to be the victims of a famous upset, they defaulted to Messi dropping deeper and deeper to collect the ball and try and dribble around the entire Saudi team.

If only Argentina had on the bench a midfielder who has spent this season breaking down Premier League teams with his fantastic array of passing, who could have come on to help feed Messi and find a way through?

Not that anyone in Saudi Arabia cared that Mac Allister was unused. A video went viral of one fan getting so excited that he ripped the door of his home off its hinges. A national holiday was then declared in the wake of the victory.

Most Brighton fans assumed that Mac Allister had a big chance of returning from Qatar as the Albion’s first ever World Cup winner.

Not so much in the wake of Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia – and especially if they ignore his talents again at the weekend.

No Mac Allister, no party.