Candidate for the most leaked, Saudi goalkeeper stopped Messi and now he will have Lewandowski

Mohaammed Alowais, 31, started to smile when asked if he spoke English.

“Did not answer. In English.

The laughter for having made it clear, despite the denial, that he understood the language, turned into laughter. The goalkeeper who could be a bet for the title of most leaked in the World Cup came out on top. Against Messi, he was bested only by a penalty kick.

In the second half, he made saves that ensured Saudi Arabia’s historic 2-1 victory over Argentina this Tuesday (22), at the Lusail stadium.

Before the debut, the fear of being beaten was often possible because, in addition to Messi, six times voted best in the world, he will also face Robert Lewandowski. The next opponent of the Saudis, in group C of the World Cup, will be Poland, on Saturday (26).

“Lewandowski is very good”, he limited himself to saying when asked, as he walked towards the exit of the stadium.

The goalkeeper of Al Hilal, the team that is the base of the selection, had only made one previous match for the World Cup. He started against Uruguay in Russia in 2018. In preparation for the Qatar tournament, he had already signaled what he could do. He ended up in the spotlight when Saudi Arabia drew 0-0 in a friendly with Ecuador in September.

Alowais now has 42 caps, 39 of them official.

“Most of our players are international stars who have already played in the World Cup. We have the necessary experience to play under pressure,” he said after the equalizer with the Ecuadorians.

Almost all players on the Saudi team play in the local league.

This year has been the best of Alowais’ career. Hired in January by Al Hilal, he receives a monthly salary of R$825,000.

The first half against the Argentines was one of suffering. He showed no reaction when he was beaten by Messi on the penalty spot, but he made an expression of dismay when he watched, with both knees on the lawn, the ball kicked by Lautaro Martínez crossed the line. It could be the sign of the expected rout. But the bid was canceled with the help of VAR.

He knelt again, but in joy, in the final step. It was to celebrate the two Saudi goals that gave the team the historic victory over Argentina.

Alowais would later make a great save from Tagliafico and avoid the goal with two shots by Messi. When he was fouled in extra time, he complained and got a yellow card. In part, it was the attempt to gain a few seconds.

Before the end of the match, however, the goalkeeper would still star in a frightening move. On an outing to try to cut the ball, he hit a knee in the face of teammate Al-Shahrani, who fell unconscious, in what was the scariest scene of the match.

Despite the scare, the defender gave the doctors a thumbs up as he left the field, indicating that he was fine.

The goalkeeper’s blasé expression on the most special day in the history of Saudi football was in line with the rest of the team. Of the few who spoke to the press after the game, none said it was a special moment, that there was a different preparation or that any attention was paid to how to mark Messi.

“We didn’t do anything much. We did the same preparation as always,” said midfielder Abdulelah Al-Malki.

With the surprise victory, Saudi Arabia is in a good position to repeat the 1994 campaign, the only time the selection managed to qualify in the group stage. That year, they lost to Sweden in the Round of 16.

It was the World Cup in which the attacking midfielder Al-Owairan became the best known name in Saudi football when he started from midfield, against Belgium, and only stopped inside the goal.

That fame still lingers, but will now have competition from striker Aldawsari, author of the decisive finish on Monday, and Mohammed Alowais, the goalkeeper who stopped Messi.