Saudi Arabia shock Argentina in seismic World Cup upset after breathtaking display

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Saudi Arabia shock Argentina in seismic World Cup upset after breathtaking display
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StatsPerform, AFP
Argentina were on the receiving end of an upset of seismic proportions, as Salem Al-Dawsari helped Saudi Arabia to a historic 2-1 win. Lionel Messi opened the scoring for one of the World Cup favourites, but Argentina were lethargic and totally off their game, and struggled to find a way through a resolute defence. Saleh Al-Shehri equalised for Saudi Arabia early in the second half, before Al-Dawsari sent the crowd into raptures with a stunning curler past Emiliano Martinez.

13:13 CET: That's the end of our coverage on Argentina vs Saudi Arabia. And what a game to start the day. See our match report, written by Andrew Pickering.

Next up, is Denmark vs Tunisia. See you there.

13:12 CET: Well, well, well. What have we just witnessed then? An absolutely faultless display from Saudi Arabia. Let's get this straight, they fully deserved that win. They played some bold, high intensity football in the first half, but went behind after an early penalty from Messi. However, they didn't look too threatening.

But that changed in the second half completely. Two goals in a thunderous eight minutes gave them something to hold on to, and they defended for their absolute lives. They were strong and powerful, and made it so hard for Argentina. They threw their bodies on the line, and goalkeeper Al-Owais was superb. I reiterate, they deserved it.

Argentina though, were so, so bad. They had the majority of the ball, but offered very little. Their final pass was off and were constantly second to loose balls. They just didn't look up for it. They looked lethargic. Their plan of throwing crosses into the box for the last 20 minutes was ridiculous, with no target man. It was a horrible showing and a disastrous performance from one of the favourites. They have Mexico next and they have to be so much better, otherwise their World Cup hopes could be left in tatters.

Final match stats
StatsPerform

Second Half

13:06 CET: IT'S GAME OVER. SAUDI ARABIA HAVE BEATEN ARGENTINA IN A SEISMIC, HISTORIC, WORLD CUP UPSET! AND BOY, HAVE THEY FULLY DESERVED IT. THEY HAVE BEEN THE BETTER TEAM OVER 106 MINUTES OF FOOTBALL, AND SHOCKED THE WORLD.

13:03 CET: We are into the 102nd minute. How long do we have left? Argentina haven't really threatened much at all. They have been poor this second half.

13:01 CET: This looks really bad for Al-Shahrani. The goalkeeper came out for a high ball, and seemingly, totally accidentally, caught his defender with a powerful knee to the face. The replays don't look great.

Thankfully, he is back on his feet. It was a strong impact, so it's good to see moving. He has been put on the stretcher and will be taken off. Everyone is hoping that he is okay. He has put his thumbs up on the stretcher, so that is potentially good news.

12:53 CET: Eight minutes added on, continuing with the pattern of lots of injury time throughout the tournament. A long eight minutes for Saudi Arabia.

12:50 CET: Two more subs for Saudi. The man who came on on the stroke of half time, Al-Abed, is off, Abdulelah Al-Amri on. Al-Buraikan off, Haitham Asiri on.

12:47 CET: Another half-chance for Messi, but his header is tame into the keeper's hands. Tick-tock.

12:45 CET: Saudi Arabia are absolutely giving it their all now. Getting into tackles, breaking up the play. Defending for their lives. Eight minutes left on the clock.

12:42 CET: Messi has a free-kick in a really dangerous area. What will he do? He sails the ball well over. A disappointing attempt by his lofty standards.

12:40 CET: Saudi Arabia make a sub. The goalscorer of the first goal, Al-Shehri is replaced by Sultan Al-Ghannam.

12:33 CET: Another sub for Argentina. Tagliafico off, Marcos Acuna on.

12:29 CET: Argentina have definitely upped their intensity, which begs the question, why did it take them going behind to finally kickstart into life?

12:26 CET: That's a great stop from Al-Owais. Tagliafico's effort from a corner hit Lisandro Martinez right in front of goal, forcing the goalkeeper into an instinctive, reflex save.

12:21 CET: Lionel Scaloni has responded to this shock with a triple substitution. Romero, Gomez and Paredes all offwith Lisandro Martinez, Julian Alvarez and Enzo Fernandez their replacements.

12:20 CET: Saudi Arabia have started this second half sensationally. Are we witnessing a huge upset at the World Cup?

Saudi Arabia momentum shift
StatsPerform

12:16 CET: OH MY WORD, THEY'VE SCORED AGAIN. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Al-DAWSARI RECEIVED THE BALL ON THE LEFT, CUT IN, AND CURLED A SHOT PAST MARTINEZ IN GOAL, WHO COULD ONLY GET A HAND ON IT. WHAT IS GOING ON? SAUDI ARABIA LEAD ARGENTINA 2-1!

12:10 CET: OKAY THEN, SAUDI ARABIA HAVE SCORED! WHO WOULD HAVE SEEN THAT ONE COMING? JUST THREE MINUTES INTO THE SECOND HALF, Al-SHEHRI IS PLAYED THROUGH, HE COMFORTABLY GOES PAST ROMERO WITH A GREAT FIRST TOUCH, AND SLIDES THE BALL INTO THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER PASS MARTINEZ!

The noise levels have gone through the roof after that one. Incredible.

12:08 CET: The second half begins, and Argentina will be looking to be more efficient offensively.

First Half

11:52 CET: And that's half time. A peculiar 45 minutes of football

Credit to Saudi Arabia for being so positive and attempting to go after Argentina, but they just don't have the quality to make something happen when they get the ball in dangerous areas.

Argentina will surely be pretty unhappy with that half though. Not because they've played too badly, but because their play in the final third has been so indecisive. The Saudi high line has been there for the taking, but some poor runs and decision making, as well as some loose passes have meant that their lead is only 1-0. They will definitely want to kill off the game soon in the second half.

Seven times Saudi Arabia caught Argentina offside. Probably sums up that half.

Half-time stats
StatsPerform

11:49 CET: Saudi Arabia are forced into a substitution on the stroke of half time. Their skipper Al-Faraj is forced off with an injury as Hattan Bahebri takes his place. Really devastating moment for him.

11:43 CET: De Paul fires a shot into Row Z from the edge of the penalty area. Argentina will be disappointed that they are just 1-0 up.

11:35 CET: Martinez scores again, but guess what? He's offside again. This is madness.

11:30 CET: Saudi Arabia's high line is leaving just so much space in behind. Sure, they've caught the Argentina forwards offside on a number of occasions, but how long can they keep this up?

Saudi Arabia high line
StatsPerform

11:28 CET: LAUTARO MARTINEZ DOUBLES ARGENTINA'S LEAD! Saudi Arabia are just way, way too open at the back with the way they are playing. Wait, no, the goal has been ruled out for offside. Well then.

11:21 CET: Messi tucks the ball away for Argentina after being played through by a long ball over the Saudi's high line. However, the offside flag was raised. A clear pattern of play appearing now. Argentina have been caught offside maybe four or five times already.

11:19 CET: Saudi Arabia looking to get into the game after a slow start, and are being very positive. They are playing with a high line and trying to press the Argentine defenders. Definitely leaving some spaces in behind though.

11:13 CET: So it's clear that FIFA are looking to penalise players who pull and grapple in the penalty area from set pieces, which makes it so puzzling that England weren't awarded a penalty when Harry Maguire was clearly dragged down yesterday.

11:10 CET: MESSI SCORES! 1-0 ARGENTINA! Was there any doubt about it? Perfect start.

11:08 CET: Well the referee has been asked to look at the VAR monitor out of the blue. Not really sure why. Okay, the video shows some grappling in the penalty area. And a penalty has been awarded to Argentina!

11:02 CET: Messi with pretty much his first kick of the game, very nearly scores. If anything, he should have scored. The ball came to him in the penalty area and his left footed shot wasn't far enough in the corner, and Al-Owais saves.

11:01 CET: And so it begins, with Saudi Arabia kicking Group C off. Argentina will be hoping for a quick start.

10:56 CET: The national anthems are underway.

Lineups

Argentina go with their tried and trusted centre back partnership of Nicolas Otamendi and Cristian Romero, despite the good form of Lisandro Martinez at Manchester United.

Papu Gomez starts in midfield in place of the injured Lo Celso, while Messi, Angel Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez form a fearsome front three. 

Argentina: Martinez; Tagliafico, Otamendi, Romero, Molina; Paredes, Gomez, De Paul; Di Maria, Martinez, Messi

Saudi Arabia: Al-Owais; Al-Shahrani, Al-Bulayhi, Al-Tambakti, Abdulhamid; Al-Malki, Kanno, Al-Faraj; Al-Dawsari, Al-Brikan, Al-Shehri

Team News

Argentina suffered a huge blow before the tournament as one of their key midfielders, Giovani Lo Celso, was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Angel Correa and Thiago Almada were called up to their squad just a week ago after Nicolas Gonzalez and Joaquin Correa both picked up knocks in training. Despite these injuries, Argentina are still looking formidable, with their attacking firepower still a sight to behold.

All eyes will be on Lionel Messi in his last ever World Cup, and his nation's hopes will rest on his shoulders.

Saudi Arabia will be looking to their talisman Salem Al-Dawsari for some inspiration, and they will be hoping for some magic from him if they want to cause a seismic upset.

Introduction

You can follow all the action from Argentina and Saudi Arabia's opening match at the 2022 World Cup using our audio commentary feature which starts five minutes before kick-off.

Find our audio commentary here.

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