One Goalkeeper. Two World Cups. Zero Goals Allowed — Until the 80th Minute.

A goalkeeper, a fingertip, and a World Cup shock that almost was

Mohammed Al Owais lay face down on the New Jersey turf, his gloves pressed into the grass as if he could somehow hold the result in place. Around him, Uruguay players punched the air, Saudi teammates sank to their knees, and the noise inside MetLife Stadium turned into a confused roar. The scoreboard read Saudi Arabia 1 Uruguay 1. Yet it felt like the story of a single pair of hands.

For more than ninety minutes on this World Cup night, Al Owais played the game every kid with a ball and a pair of gloves dreams …