Saudi Arabia have come from behind to record a stunning 2-1 victory against two-time world champions Argentina in their 2022 World Cup Group C opener on Tuesday.
Seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot early in the first half, before the Green Falcons turned the game on its head in remarkable fashion courtesy of second-half strikes from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari.
Lionel Scaloni's men – regarded by many as one of the favourites to go all the way in Qatar – were not at the races, while Saudi Arabia managed the game brilliantly and held on to pull off a seismic shock on the world's biggest stage, ending Argentina's 36-game unbeaten run in the process.
Sitting 50 places above Saudi Arabia in the FIFA world rankings, Argentina headed into their opener at the Lusail Stadium as strong favourites to open their account with a routine win, and they initially made a bright start to the contest, dominating proceedings in the final third.
It took less than two minutes for the first big chance to fall to Messi, but his curling strike just inside the area was kept out by the right palm of Saudi stopper Mohammed Alowais.
Messi should have scored from such an opening, but he was presented with another inviting opportunity in the ninth minute, when VAR intervened to award Argentina a penalty after Leandro Paredes was deemed to have been hauled down inside the box by Saud Abdulhamid.
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Argentina scored nine first-half goals at the last World Cup four years ago, and Messi was on hand to net their first in Qatar, stroking his effort from 12 yards into the bottom-left corner and sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Messi thought that he had punished Saudi Arabia's high line when he ran in behind and swept the ball beyond Alowais in the 22nd minute, but the Paris Saint-Germain forward was marginally caught offside.
Lautaro Martinez then had the ball in the back of the net twice within a seven-minute period, with a sweet chip followed by a simple finish after rounding the goalkeeper, but the Inter Milan striker failed to beat the offside trap on both occasions.
Despite their early dominance, La Albiceleste were not at full tilt in the first half and they were sloppy in possession at times which provided a glimmer of hope for Herve Renard's Saudi Arabia side, who were aggressive in their play but lacked an end product up top in the first 45.
The Green Falcons were dealt a blow in first-half stoppage time when captain Salman Al-Faraj, who was an injury doubt heading into the tournament, was forced to withdraw with a muscle injury.
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Despite the loss of their leader, Saudi Arabia remained in the contest and it took them just two minutes and 41 seconds after the restart to score a surprise equaliser, with Saleh Al-Shehri – their top scorer in World Cup qualifying – charging in behind, away from Cristian Romero, before firing low across Emiliano Martinez and into the far corner.
The Green Falcons then took the lead in spectacular fashion in the 52nd minute, with Salem Al-Dawsari checking inside from the left before unleashing a stunning strike into the top-right corner beyond the fingertips of Martinez, sending the Saudi fans into pandemonium.
Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez and Lisandro Martinez were all brought on just before the hour mark to provide fresh legs for an out-of-sorts Argentina outfit, and the latter – an unlikely source in front of goal – came close to restoring parity just five minutes after coming off the bench, when a deflected effort hit his knee from close range before being palmed away by Alowais.
Argentina struggled to bounce back and they surprisingly lacked quality in the final third, with Saudi Arabia defending resiliently to keep the two-time world champions at bay.
Messi whipped a free kick high over the crossbar in the final 10 minutes before peeling off at the far post and nodding a tame header into the grasp of Alowais.
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Argentina were momentarily boosted when the fourth official issued eight minutes of added time, and they almost snatched a point in stoppage time, only for Abdulelah Al-Amri to deny a hooked effort from Alvarez on the goal line.
The result was marred for Saudi Arabia in the closing stages of added time when Yasir Al-Shahrani was forced off on a stretcher after receiving a nasty smack to the face by the knee of his own goalkeeper.
Nevertheless, the Green Falcons held on for the greatest victory in their World Cup history, while Argentina have been left with plenty to ponder after making the worst possible start to their Group C campaign.
Saudi Arabia will look to pull off another stunning result when they face Poland in their second group fixture on Saturday, while Scaloni's side will seek to bounce back from their disappointing defeat when they take on Gerardo Martino's Mexico.
Oliver Thomas
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