As the minutes passed without Spain scoring or remotely making an attempt at their goal, the Saudi fans behind the goal got louder and louder.
Louder than their numbers suggested they should be.
The Spanish sections responded with the two of them feeding off each other and keeping the stadium at a pitch that the football on the pitch was not yet justifying.
Then, when a loose ball broke, Balde got to it first.
He was in his number three position on the left when it arrived at his feet.
When he looked up, he saw the Saudi right back stepping toward him and saw the space, and at that, it was almost like something inside him broke.
He nudged the ball ahead once, but quickly caught up to it to push it further ahead as the Spanish crowd rose behind.
Soon, he was past the fullback before the man had fully committed to closing him down.
"Balde! Past his man. First time anyone has beaten a Saudi defender one-on-one tonight, he's cutting inside....."
