In one of the biggest ever upsets in the history of the football World Cup, Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina 2-1 in their opening encounter of the tournament. Lionel Messi-led Argentina was one of the favourites to win the tournament but the unfancied Saudi team managed to get the better of them with a superlative second-half performance. Following this historic win, the Saudi government has declared a national holiday in the country to celebrate the achievement.
The ‘Green Falcons’ fought back after going 0-1 down to a Messi penalty in the first half with goals from Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari. Dawsari’s brilliant curling effort gave Saudi Arabia the lead, the lead they didn’t relinquish till the end thanks to some resolute defending and some excellent goalkeeping by Mohammed Al-Owais.
Saudi Arabia’s historic win broke a sequence of 36 unbeaten games for Argentina. In what is likely to be Lionel Messi’s last tournament with the national side, Argentina was expected to breeze through the group stages but having lost to Saudi Arabia, they are now up against it having to face much tougher opponents in Poland and Mexico, the other two teams in the group.
For Saudi Arabia, the win was beyond their wildest dreams. Last month, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman told the team that their group is very difficult so nobody is expecting a win or even a draw during the tournament. He just asked the players to play their game and enjoy the tournament.
However, the Saudi players did more than that, they beat one of the footballing powerhouses and the favourites to win the World Cup. A national holiday in Saudi Arabia seems like the appropriate tribute to the achievement of these players.
