January 2023

Tuesday 22 November 2022.
Lusail Stadium, Qatar.
88,012 in attendance.
 
After the first 45 minutes, Argentina is dominating the match. Lionel Messi scores a penalty and Argentina score 3 more goals (ruled out as offside by VAR). The Saudi players are feeling the pressure.

It’s half-time.

The score?
Argentina 1-0 Saudi Arabia (it could be 4-0).

The feeling?
A walk in the park for Argentina.

Both national teams go to their locker rooms.
 
Hervé Renard, former football player, is the national coach for Saudi Arabia. Although he is French, he uses English to motivate his players. His half-time motivational speech is great, but the players’ mother tongue isn’t English.
 
Mohammed Ameen interprets Renard’s speech from English into Arabic. However, Ameen does not simply interpret the message into the players’ mother tongue. He also conveys the intended meaning, emotion and passion.
 
Outcome?
3 minutes into the 2nd half, Saudi Arabia scores a goal.
Argentina 1-1 Saudi Arabia.

4 minutes later, they score another goal.
Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia.

Within the first 8 minutes of the 2nd half, straight after the motivational speech interpreted into Arabic, Saudi Arabia make history in an amazing comeback defeating Argentina in their 1st match of the 2022 World Cup.
 
Fun fact?
Actually, as it turned out, Saudi Arabia have gone down in history as the very only national team who defeated Messi’s Argentina in Qatar, the 2022 World Champions.

Lesson?
The power of language.
The impact of the mother tongue.
The importance of a skilled interpreter.

Enjoy the video. It’s priceless.