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Son Heung-min dons a face mask due to a prior injury during practice at the Al Egla training facility in Doha, Qatar, on Nov. 22 (local time). (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina 2-1 in Lusail, Qatar, on Tuesday (local time).

It was a monumental slaying of a giant, with FIFA’s 51st-ranked team taking down a team ranked No. 3 in the world.

Saudi Arabia became the first Asian team in World Cup history to beat Argentina, while Argentina’s 36-game run without a loss — a two-year, four-month period — came to an end.

Prior to practice, Korean left-back Kim Jin-su (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) met with reporters and summed up the significance of the match thusly:

“In the sport of football, strong teams sometimes lose, and weak teams sometimes win. As a fellow Asian country, [Saudi Arabia’s win] gives us hope.”

As Kim suggested, the underdog’s upset is particularly invigorating for Korea ahead of its match with Uruguay.

Ranked 28th by FIFA, Korea is 15 places below Uruguay, which is ranked 13th. The Uruguay squad is worth a combined 590 million euros, the ninth highest of all the teams taking part in the Qatar World Cup.

The difference between Korea and Uruguay isn’t as dramatic as that between Argentina and Saudi Arabia, but we still need to examine the secrets of Tuesday’s stunner.

Several factors were at play in Saudi Arabia’s win.

The passion of the Saudi fans, who practically turned the 80,000-seat Lusail Stadium into their home field, froze the Argentine players.

Also playing a part was semi-automated offside technology (SAOT), adopted for the first time in this tournament.

The Saudi Arabian team celebrates their stunning upset against Argentina in their first match of the World Cup, on Nov. 22 in Lusail, Qatar. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

Above all, Saudi Arabia maintained exquisite defensive line control and spacing. Saudi Arabia was never driven completely back, nor did it rashly attack, keeping control of the pitch.

Saudi Arabia played a high defensive line and narrowed the gaps between individual midfielders and between midfielders and defenders, controlling the ball and players entering the midfield.

With the middle blocked, Argentina wasted time moving the ball along the sidelines, and when they did boldly go on attack, they were caught offside.

Argentina was called offside 10 times during the match. That’s nearly twice the number they recorded in four games during the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when they had six called against them.

Speaking on Youtube, KBS commentator Koo Ja-cheol pointed to Korea’s match against Iraq in the third round of Asian qualifiers last November as the most impressive the squad has played under coach Paulo Bento.

“The key to that match was defensive line control that helped the midfielders run around less,” he said. “The minor difference led to a 3-0 victory.”

It’s impossible to simply compare Iraq, Argentina and Uruguay, but commanding the line is the basis of victory, be it for the favorite or the underdog.

Commenting on the game live from Qatar, KBS commentator Han Jun-hui said, “Saudi Arabia’s tight, perfect defensive organization would become the playbook for all underdogs in the tournament.”

However, he said keeping the defensive line could prove a challenge.

“Saudi Arabia made no mistakes in controlling the defensive line, and the goalkeeper and defenders showed great spirit,” he said. “Doing all of this isn’t easy.”

Can Bento’s squad maintain that fine line for victory?

By Park Kang-su, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]