Saudi Arabia fans were over the moon after Herve Renard's men scripted one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history with a 2-1 win over Lionel Messi's Argentina. The green-clad Saudi fans were on their feet in the Lusail Stadium as they let out chants of "Our team fulfills our dreams!" and "Where is Messi? We beat him!"
Goalkeeper Al-Owais was one of his country's heroes in the shock victory, pulling off a number of saves including a stunning stop to deny Nicolas Tagliafico from point-blank range. He and his teammates held their own in the closing stages to seal the victory, with Al-Shahrani appearing to give the thumbs up as he left the field after his nasty-looking injury.
As scores of Saudi Arabian supporters, Qatar's neighbor, cheered in disbelief from the stands, a dumbfounded Messi watched. The field was overrun by Saudi Arabia's subs. It brought back memories of Cameroon's 1-0 victory over an Argentina team captained by Diego Maradona in the opening match of the 1990 World Cup as Messi's quest for the one major championship that has eluded him got off to a shocking start.
During a strong first half performance in which he and Lautaro Martinez had three goals disallowed for offside, Messi converted a penalty in the 10th minute. But at the start of the second half, Saudi Arabia, the second-lowest-ranked team in the competition after Ghana, threw caution to the wind and charged at Argentina's defense in front of a boisterous 88,012 spectators.
Salem Al-Dawsari curled in a scorching shot from the edge of the penalty box in the 53rd minute, leaving Argentina and Messi speechless. Saleh Al-Shehri had earlier sent in a low attempt in the 48th minute. The outcome stopped Argentina from tying Italy's previous international record of 37 games without a loss and halted their remarkable 36-match unbeaten streak.
Brazil defeated Argentina in the Copa America semifinals in July 2019, which was Argentina's most recent loss. They are ranked third, 48 spots higher than Saudi Arabia, according to FIFA. The last time Argentina lost their World Cup opening match, it was to Cameroon in 1990.
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