Saudi Arabia won the opening world cup match against Argentina 2:1 at lusail stadium, Qatar on Tuesday. Saudi shocked Argentina in the very first match, even though Argentina is considered to be the favorites for the world cup.
Messi’s early shot (2nd minute) was saved by the Saudi keeper with some effort, and he kept his form brilliantly throughout the entire game. Messi delivered a corner which they got in the 10th minute of the game but was saved by the Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Mohammed Alowais.
VAR provided a chance for Argentina from the penalty spot as it found Paredes dragged down by Saudi defenders. Messi directed the penalty kick toward the left corner with ease registering his first goal in Qatar World Cup. Offside flags were raised multiple times; three times Argentina was denied by VAR for scoring from offsides.
An early equalizer came in the second half, which put Argentina under pressure for fact that they never lost in the opening games of world cups. Salah scored from within the penalty box which gave Saudi kind of confidence to Saudi to raid the Argentine half all again. Salem Al-Dawsari in some minutes scored a stunner, making the score 2:1 which left Argentina speechless.
Argentina never lost a game, since 2019 against Brazil until the refree blew the final whistle to their opening match in the Qatar World cup 2022. The second-greatest winning streak after Italy (38 games unbeaten) came to an end (37 games)
Alowais, the goalkeeper and the Saudi defense stood firm against the Argentine attacks in the second half to win the most deserved and they placed themselves at the top of the table.