We go into halftime with Argentina up just 1-0, surely a disappointing sight for an Argentina team that has generated a lot of opportunities that didn’t end up on the scoreboard. It’s also a thrilling sight for a Saudi Arabia team that remains one moment of brilliance — or a clumsy mistake by Argentina — away from what would be an unexpected and joyous draw.
Three Argentina goals were disallowed by offside calls, with at least one a very close call. To see the ball hit the net four times contributed to the feeling that Argentina was playing with its food; they generated several solid scoring opportunities aside from the disallowed goals, and they held 64 percent of the possession.