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VAR Confusion as Saudi Arabia Roar Back to Beat Oman at Asian Cup 

Saudi Arabia's defender #05 Ali Al-Bulayhi celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Qatar 2023 AFC Asian Cup Group F football match between Saudi Arabia and Oman at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on January 16, 2024. (AFP)
Saudi Arabia's defender #05 Ali Al-Bulayhi celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Qatar 2023 AFC Asian Cup Group F football match between Saudi Arabia and Oman at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on January 16, 2024. (AFP)
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VAR Confusion as Saudi Arabia Roar Back to Beat Oman at Asian Cup 

Saudi Arabia's defender #05 Ali Al-Bulayhi celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Qatar 2023 AFC Asian Cup Group F football match between Saudi Arabia and Oman at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on January 16, 2024. (AFP)
Saudi Arabia's defender #05 Ali Al-Bulayhi celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Qatar 2023 AFC Asian Cup Group F football match between Saudi Arabia and Oman at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on January 16, 2024. (AFP)

Roberto Mancini's Saudi Arabia fought back to defeat Oman 2-1 in the dying seconds at the Asian Cup on Tuesday, but only after some VAR confusion.

Also in Group F, Thailand beat Kyrgyzstan 2-0 with Supachai Chaided scoring both goals.

The ambitious Saudis beat eventual champions Argentina in the group phase of the 2022 World Cup and returned to Qatar as one of the favorites for the regional tournament.

They are seeking a record-equaling fourth Asian Cup, off the back of a recruitment drive that has lured the likes of Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo to the Kingdom's domestic league.

Saudi Arabia is also set to host the 2034 World Cup.

Their opening match at the Asian Cup started badly when they conceded a penalty -- and finished in farcical scenes in front of a bemused crowd of 41,987.

Deep into injury time and with the Saudis pushing to make it 2-1, Ali Al-Bulayhi headed in following a corner to spark pandemonium for what they thought was the winner.

The goal was disallowed for offside by the assistant referee, and was checked by VAR. He appeared in replays to have been onside.

Then came the confusion when it appeared that referee Shaun Evans had stuck with the original offside call and the game restarted, only for him to call back play and award the goal.

Bulayhi, who celebrated by inflating a green balloon as his teammates mobbed him, afterwards called his winner "a gift to the Saudi people".

"Scoring at the end of the match, this is what great players do," said the 34-year-old defender.

Mancini, who took the Saudi reins in September, said his side made mistakes in the first half "but this is normal in the first game".

His opposite number Branko Ivankovic said the "Saudi team deserved the victory", citing the tiredness of his players as a reason behind Oman's late collapse.

Mancini's men went behind in the 14th minute when Evans gave a penalty for a trip on Oman forward Muhsen Al-Ghassani, having checked the VAR screen.

Salaah Al-Yahyaei converted to give lower-ranked Oman a surprise lead.

Oman sat back for the remainder of the first half, but Saudi Arabia failed to apply any serious pressure.

After the break the Saudis continued to huff and puff, but had only registered two shots on target by the hour mark.

As the clock ticked down and jeers began to ring out from the Saudi fans, the men in green needed a moment of magic.

And that was what they got, substitute Abdulrahman Ghareeb -- only on the pitch three minutes -- jinking his way through the Omani back line before stroking in the equalizer with 12 minutes left.

The Saudis then pushed for the winner, leading to Bulayhi's dramatic late intervention.

Earlier, Buriram United striker Supachai prodded in from close range on 26 minutes to give Thailand the lead over Kyrgyzstan.

He got his second in similar style just after the break when the ball again fell his way with the goal gaping.

Reigning champions Qatar return to action on Wednesday when they will look to seal their place in the last 16 with victory over Tajikistan.

In the other game in Group A, China play Lebanon.

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Move over Messi and Ronaldo. A New Generation of Soccer Stars Is Lining up to Win the Ballon d'Or

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior looks on during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2024. (EPA)
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior looks on during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2024. (EPA)
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Move over Messi and Ronaldo. A New Generation of Soccer Stars Is Lining up to Win the Ballon d'Or

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior looks on during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2024. (EPA)
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior looks on during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2024. (EPA)

No Lionel Messi. No Cristiano Ronaldo.

When the Ballon d'Or is presented at a gala ceremony in Paris on Monday, it will feel like the start of a new era in football. There is also a sense of void now that one of sport's most engrossing rivalries is likely over.

"It's interesting that as it starts to come to an end, we are sort of saying, what's the next equivalent rivalry going to be," soccer author Jonathan Wilson told The Associated Press. "As if that kind of rivalry was a natural state. But there's never been a rivalry like that before."

Messi and Ronaldo won football's most prestigious individual award a combined 13 times over a 16-year period of unprecedented dominance. Neither has been nominated this year.

Instead, Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior is the favorite to be crowned the world's best player and become the first winner born this century.

He underlined his credentials this week with a stunning Champions League hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund.

"Vinicius had an incredible season where he was a key player... he proved he's the best player in the world," Madrid teammate Lucas Vazquez said.

But rather than Vinicius spearheading a new era of dominance, it seems likely the award will revert to a time before Messi and Ronaldo when multiple winners were relatively rare.

France great Zinedine Zidane, for instance, only won it once. The same goes for Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Luis Figo and George Best. Originally limited to European players, it was never won by Pele or Diego Maradona.

Before Messi, the last player to win back-to-back awards was Dutch striker Marco van Basten in 1988 and '89.

Messi won a record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or last year after leading Argentina to triumph at the World Cup in 2022. Wilson, who wrote about the history of Argentinian football in his book "Angels With Dirty Faces," sees no obvious successor to the Barcelona great, now at Inter Miami.

"Messi's been phenomenal for 17, 18 years," he said. "It's not a pure tallying process, but in terms of greatness over a protracted period, Messi is the greatest there has ever been by quite some margin.

"I don't think there's anybody in the world now who has anything remotely close to that talent."

Such was the dominance of Messi and Ronaldo, not only would Vinicius Junior become the first winner born this century, but there has never even been a recipient born in the '90s.

Vinicius Junior, whose goals helped Madrid to a record-extending 15th European Cup last season, is part of a new generation of stars that are flourishing as Messi and Ronaldo reach the final stages of their careers.

Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal make up a field of contenders who could challenge for years to come.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri is second favorite to win this year and would become the first player born in the '90s to take the award.

Mbappe, who has long-been seen as the heir to Messi and Ronaldo as the world's best player, was born in 1998, meaning it's likely there will eventually be a winner from that decade even if Rodri misses out.

The only other winners since Ronaldo won his first Ballon d'Or in 2008 were Luka Modric in 2018 and Karim Benzema in 2022. Both were born in the 1980s.

The award was cancelled in 2020, when Robert Lewandowski was widely regarded the best player that year. He was also born in the '80s.

Neymar, born in 1992, came third on two occasions.

The Ballon d'Or was created by France Football magazine and has been awarded since 1956. It is voted for by journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings.

Each journalist, one per country, selects 10 players in ranked order, with points attributed to each position. The winner is the player who receives the most points.

The dominance of Messi and Ronaldo in the age of social media has heightened the profile of the award.

Players talk of their dream to win it in a manner they may have spoken about the Champions League and World Cup in the past.

The potential to win it is used during transfer negotiations, with clauses added to contracts stipulating a buying club will pay extra costs if a player goes on to be crowned the best player in the world.

While Vinicius appears to be in pole position this year, Mbappe vs. Haaland has the potential to develop into a new rivalry for the award — particularly given they are strikers for Madrid and Manchester City, respectively, the two best teams in Europe in recent years.

"That whole idea of rivalries and sort of head-to-head, one-v-ones is just such a big part of football now," soccer author Matt Oldfield told The Associated Press. "People want to be able to simplify it to one-v-one, and I think the Mbappe-Haaland debate will be the leading one."

Oldfield writes children's books about football and on visits to schools he gauges the popularity of players among young fans.

His latest series is called "The Football GOAT (greatest of all time)."

The first book in the series centered around Messi and Ronaldo. The next is about Mbappe and Haaland: "We're kind of moving beyond Messi and Ronaldo now," he said.