Saudi Arabia pulled off what many are calling the biggest upset in World Cup history, as the upset tournament favorites Argentina by a score of 2-1 earlier today.
It was perhaps the greatest moment in Saudi Arabian soccer history, but it didn’t come without its costs.
Late in the game, with Saudi Arabia doing whatever they could to protect their 2-1 lead, goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais came out to punch away a cross when his knee took out teammate Yasser Al-Shahrani.
The direct blow to the head knocked the Saudi defender out cold, leaving him unconscious on the pitch for several minutes.
Yasser Al-Shahrani actually tried to walk off the pitch, but he was clearly dazed and struggling to maintain his balance. He was eventually stretchered off the field, and was clearly in rough shape with bandaged covering most of his bloody face.
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I’m sure Yasser Al-Shahrani will be feeling the effects of this collision for days, but the fact that his side was able to hold on for the historic victory will probably help ease the pain at least a little bit. It’ll be interesting to see if he’s able to return before the end of this tournament.
Up next for Saudi Arabia is a date with Poland on Saturday, while Argentina will look to bounce back on that same day when they take on Mexico.
Yasser Al-Shahrani plays his club football for Al-Hilal SFC of the Saudi Professional League. The 30-year-old back has over 70 appearances with the national team, with his first coming back in 2012. He started all three games for Saudi Arabia at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, during which the team beat Egypt but lost to Uruguay and Russia, failing to advance to the knockout stage in the process.
