It took Lionel Messi 10 minutes and a penalty — that silenced a raucous Saudi crowd behind the team dugouts at the Lusail Stadium — to set sail for yet another World Cup adventure — his last — to exorcise the ghosts of disappointments past. But his sails lost their wind in five terrifying second-half minutes, handing Argentina a 2-1 opening-game ambush by Saudi Arabia. Starting the first afternoon match in Qatar, the Argentines, particularly left-back Nicolas Tagliafico, struggled a bit to adjust their focus in the beating sun. But Messi soon had his first shot on target after a Lautaro Martinez backheel in the second minute. His left footer, though, was pushed away by goalkeeper Mohammed Alowais. A foul on Rodrigo De Paul on the left in the eighth minute saw Messi play the freekick wide, but the game was abruptly stopped as referee Slavko Vincic ran to the VAR console to check whether Saud Abdulhamid had grappled Leandro Paredes to the floor from the earlier corner. An unflustered Messi waited an eternity to allow the goalie to make his move before rolling it in to Alowais’s now-vacant right