Saudi Arabia pull off massive upset, stun Lionel Messi’s Argentina 2-1 in FIFA World Cup 2022
Saudi Arabia pull off massive upset, stun Lionel Messi’s Argentina 2-1
In what can bedeemed the mother of all upsets, Saudi Arabia defeated the tournamentfavourites Argentina 2-1 in the FIFA World Cup 2022at the Lusail stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Tuesday. Lionel Messi opened the scoring for the South American giantsby hitting a penalty in the 10th minute - thus equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's world cup record of seven goals. With this, he also became the first player from Argentina to score in four World Cups.
After clearly dominating the first half with three disallowed goals and 64% possession, Argentina looked all but set to beat Saudi Arabia. However, things took a surprising turn at the start of the second half when Saudi Arabia'sSaleh Alshehri equalised with a goal in the 48th minute to make it 1-1. Four minutes latercame a moment that shook the whole world as a quick goal from Salem Aldawsari made it 2-1 for Saudi Arabia.
The Argentinian side looked shocked like everyone but didn't drop their shoulders down. Until the last moment, theykept pushing for that one goal. Even after eight extra minutes past the regular time, the former champions couldn't score and thus lost the match, sending shockwaves all over.
With this massive win, Saudi Arabia became the first non-European team to beat Argentina at the FIFA World cup since Cameroon in 1990. Meanwhile, Argentina's next matches are against Mexico on Sunday, November 27th, and against Poland on Thursday, December 1st.
