Tears welled in the eyes of Oscar López as he washed the windows of the Buenos Aires building where he works as the superintendent. A devoted fan of Argentina, the 67-year-old was visibly upset as he reflected on the bitter 2-1 loss by the national team, delivered by upstart Saudi Arabia on Monday at the World Cup in Qatar. But the fact that Argentina was favored over the Saudis is no excuse, Lopez said. “If they’re in the World Cup, no team is easy,” López said. “You always have to be careful.” Most of Argentina got up early to watch the 7 a.m. match and the long-awaited debut of Lionel Messi’s team. Many walked to bakeries in Buenos Aires wearing the light-blue-and-white jerseys to grab snacks. Sounds of cheering were heard in the streets at the kickoff. More noise followed when Messi scored early in the game, and the din of air horns penetrated the morning air. But an eerie silence then set in, as what was supposed to be an easy match turned challenging. Saudi Arabia rallied with two second-half goals, and one of World Cup's favorites instead suffered one of its biggest upsets. “The truth is, this is a disappointment, a big disappointment,” said Alejandro Pintos, a 36-year-old locksmith who opened his shop later than usual to watch the game. “This was the match that we had no choice but to win.” Pintos said the national team was “very disorganized” — something he found particularly frustrating, given its 36-match unbeaten streak leading up to the tournament. Read more: World Cup stunner: Saudi Arabia beat Messi’s Argentina 2-1 Local media quoted Messi as saying he was just as shocked as the fans on how things had turned out. “It’s a very strong blow,” Messi said. “We didn’t expect to begin this way.” Other fans took to social media to complain about three potential Argentina goals ruled out on offside calls. Argentines were counting on the World Cup to bring a glimmer of a hope to a country that has been economically stagnant for years, suffering a nearly 100% inflation rate and where close to four in 10 live in poverty. “I’m really quite bitter,” said Josefina Licera, a 27-year-old social worker, as she waited to take a bus to work. “I was really sure we were going to win, and it was a big surprise.” Susana Leguizamón, 55, woke up early, put on her blue-and-white-striped Argentina jersey and was ready to celebrate. “I was very, very, very surprised,” she said. “The truth is, we underestimated our rival.” But Santiago Babarro, 40, said he wasn’t too shocked by the loss. “The same thing always happens to Argentina," the retail worker said. "We say, ‘This is an easy match, we can win it easily,’ and then, bam! They put us in our place. We always believe we’re more than what we are.” Sebastián Fabre said he woke up with an uneasy feeling and was worried about what he said was overconfidence by Argentina's fans. “There was way too much unfounded optimism. I didn’t want to say anything but I think we were all way too overconfident,” he said. Read more: Qatar World Cup: Messi scores as Argentina take 1-0 lead against Saudi Arabia Leguizamón, who walked to her job at a restaurant still wearing her Argentina jersey, said she could feel the suffering of those around her. “Everyone is very sad, very sad,” she said. “We all woke up with lots of hope.” Some fans saw a silver lining in suffering adversity at the outset of the tournament. Argentina next plays Mexico on Saturday in the second Group C match. “Really, it’s better that this happened in the first match and not in the quarterfinals,” Fabre said. “That’s the positive side to this.” Leguizamón agreed. “A trip is not a fall, as we say here,” she said, using a common Argentine expression. “I’m a big fan of the national team and I get in a really bad mood when it loses but my hope is intact.” The saddest part, said 21-year-old retail worker Florencia Folgoso, "is having to go to work after watching a match that we lost. You already start the day with the left foot.”

Lebanon’s information minister resigned Friday, a move many hope could open the way for easing an unprecedented diplomatic row with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab nations that has compounded the small country’s multiple crises.George Kordahi, the minister and a prominent former game show host, said he took the decision to step down ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday. The resignation, Kordahi said at a press conference in the Lebanese capital, may help Macron start a dialogue to help restore Beirut-Riyadh relations. READ:  Lebanese hospitals at breaking point as everything runs out But the crisis goes deeper than Kordahi’s comments aired in late October, in which he was critical of the Saudi-led war in Yemen. His resignation is unlikely going to be a game changer in the dynamics of the crisis. It is rooted in Saudi Arabia’s uneasiness over the rising influence of Iran in the region, including in Lebanon, once a traditional Saudi ally and recipient of financial assistance from the oil-rich kingdom.It is also unlikely to diffuse internal divisions in Lebanon and a government paralysis made worse during the diplomatic crisis.Saudi Arabia, which has been joined by other Gulf Arab states in a boycott of Lebanon, is unhappy with the dominance of the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group and its allies on the levers of power in Lebanon.“The Saudi view is that any initiative that does not address that core issue will not succeed nor receive its blessing,” said the risk consultancy Eurasia Group in a statement Friday. “As a result, a minister’s resignation will be viewed as somewhat constructive but largely irrelevant to the much larger issue at hand.”Prospects of significant financial assistance to Lebanon are therefore dim, the group said.That crisis has added to immense economic troubles facing Lebanon, already mired in a financial meltdown. Following Kordahi’s televised comments, the kingdom recalled its ambassador from Beirut and banned all Lebanese imports, affecting hundreds of businesses and cutting off hundreds of millions in foreign currency to Lebanon.That aggravated Lebanon’s economic crisis, the worst in its modern history, which has plunged more than three quarters of the nation’s population of 6 million, including a million Syrian refugees, into poverty.The Saudi measures have caused anxiety, particularly among hundreds of thousands of Lebanese who work in the Gulf Arab countries and send home millions of dollars every year.For weeks, Kordahi, backed by Hezbollah and its allies, refused to resign, saying the comments were made before he was named minister and that he meant no offense.On Friday, he said he was resigning even though he was unconvinced that this was needed, adding that “Lebanon does not deserve this treatment” from Saudi Arabia.“Lebanon is more important than George Kordahi,” he said. “I hope that this resignation opens the window” for better relations with Gulf Arab countries. READ:  Lebanese are gripped by worry as economic meltdown speeds up Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed Kordahi’s resignation, saying it was “necessary” and “could open the door for tackling the problem with the brothers in the kingdom and the Gulf nations.”On Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, Kordahi was hailed as a “national hero” who stepped down for the national good, without changing his views.In his remarks that triggered the spat, Kordahi said in a televised interview that the war in Yemen was futile and called it an aggression by the Saudi-led coalition. The conflict began with the 2014 takeover of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, by the Houthi rebels, who control much of the country’s north. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war the following year, determined to restore the internationally recognized government and oust the rebels.The standoff with Saudi Arabia has further paralyzed Lebanon’s government, which has been unable to convene since Oct. 12 amid reports that ministers allied with Hezbollah would resign if Kordahi goes.Mikati’s government is embroiled in another crisis, triggered when Hezbollah protested the course of the state’s investigation into the massive Beirut port explosion last year. It criticized Tarek Bitar, the judge leading the investigation, saying his probe was politicized, and called on the government to ensure his removal. Local media reported there were mediations to trade Bitar’s removal from the probe with Kordahi’s resignation.Macron, who is due in Riyadh on Saturday, backs Mikati’s government and has taken the lead among the international community in helping the small Mideast country, a former French protectorate.“I understood that the French want my resignation before Macron visits Riyadh, which would help, maybe in opening the way for dialogue,” Kordahi said. He did not elaborate, though he had earlier said he was seeking guarantees that his stepping down would ease tensions with the kingdom.A senior official from the French presidency, speaking to reporters earlier this week, said Macron will discuss strengthening cooperation with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries “to prevent Lebanon from sinking even further.” The official spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity in line with policy.After accepting Kordahi’s resignation, Mikati called on his Cabinet to convene and end the deadlock that has paralyzed the government for weeks.Salem Zahran, a Lebanese analyst, said Kordahi’s resignation may be a “ticket” to jump-start French mediation with Saudi Arabia on Lebanon's behalf but is unlikely to change much domestically. A parliament session is expected Tuesday, with a discussion about the government paralysis because of the port investigation on the agenda.

Wearing a mock Arab headdress, Chris Greenslade, between swigs from a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale, was proudly embracing his club’s new status as one of the richest in world sports. “We’re Saudis,” the 41-year-old Newcastle fan said. “We can afford anything.” Read: Premier League club Newcastle bought by Saudi sovereign fund The gloating and celebrations from fans were only before Sunday's match against Tottenham at St. James' Park, as the new era under Saudi ownership was heralded, before reality set in. Callum Wilson put Newcastle ahead after only 107 seconds before the hosts collapsed to lose 3-2 and remain in the relegation zone. Much spending will be needed on players, along with a new manager as the crowd was demanding. To receive the investment, Newcastle fans have to — reluctantly in many cases — accept their long-underachieving club becoming embroiled in a sporting moral maze of the ethics of ownership by a state. Embracing the riches of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund to remove a long-despised owner means an unwelcome attachment with the murkier side of a kingdom. “You’re going to get stuff like that along there,” Greenslade says, pointing out a vehicle emblazoned with the name “Jamal Khashoggi” alongside an image of the journalist murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. There was also a photo of the Saudi crown prince implicated in the gruesome plot: Mohammed bin Salman. “Is there any evidence?” Greenslade said. “Is it nailed on?

Washington, Sept 19 (AP/UNB) — Saudi Arabia spent billions to protect a kingdom built on oil but could not stop the suspected Iranian drone and missile attack, exposing gaps that even America's most advanced weaponry failed to fill.