Saudi Arabia in the World Cup history has defeated Lionel Messi’s Argentina 2-1 in an astonishing Group C match held on Tuesday. The pre match talk focused on Messi, one of the greatest player who this World Cup might be his last played.
The Argentina captain scored an early penalty to put his side in the lead, but two second-half goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari turned the game on its head.
The thousands of Saudi fans inside the Lusail Stadium couldn’t believe what they were watching as they celebrated their unexpected victory.
The South American team, ranked third in the world, unbeaten for three years and among the favorites to win the tournament, to sweep aside its opponent, ranked 48 places below it in the world rankings.
According to sports data group Grace note, which is a Nielsen company, Tuesday’s result was the biggest upset in the history of the competition.
“The most surprising World Cup win ever according to Gracenote was USA’s victory over England in 1950 with a 9.5% chance of victory for the US team but Saudi Arabia’s chance of victory today was estimated
at 8.7% so takes over at number one,”
As much as this was a historic win for Saudi Arabia, it was a humiliating defeat for Argentina who capitulated on the biggest stage. Saudi players smiled and laughed with reporters as they left the stadium, a stark contrast to the Argentine squad who walked with their
heads down onto the team bus. Messi was one of the few to stop and speak to journalists and even stopped for photos.
The last three teams to beat Argentina at a World Cup either went on to win the competition – Germany and France in 2014 and 2018 respectively – or reach the final – Croatia 2018.
“I’m feeling very proud of my team. This is one of the craziest games I’ve seen in my whole life,” fan Yazid Aldakheel told CNN. “Beating Argentina, one of the best teams in the world, it’s like a dream.
“Playing in the World Cup is good, beating Argentina is something else, it’s a different world.”
Argentina will hope to recover against Mexico in its next group match on Saturday, while Saudi Arabia faces Poland.
