Qatar World Cup 2022: Top 6 moments from Argentina's shocking 1-2 loss to Saudi
By Ayush Gupta | First Published Nov 22, 2022, 5:54 PM ISTQatar World Cup 2022: The opening upset of the tournament is here as Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina 2-1 in Lusail on Tuesday. Here are the top six moments from this enthraling contest.
In what turned out to be an engaging match, Saudi Arabia pulled off a surprise as it upset former two-time world champion Argentina 2-1 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Tuesday. While superstar striker Lionel Messi put La Selección ahead with a historic goal in the tenth minute, the Falcons pulled things back in the succeeding half, with Saleh Al-Shehri (49) and Salem Al-Dawsari (53) scoring in quick successions. In the same light, we present the top six moments from this gripping encounter.
Messi enters history books
Messi's successful spot kick ensured him scoring in four editions of the WC. He became only the fifth man to do so and the first from Argentina, further strengthening his legacy as one of the modern-day GOATs.
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How impressive was Saudi Arabia goalkeeper, Mohammad Al Owais against Argentina today? pic.twitter.com/MXP4evf9wj
— Citi Sports (@CitiSportsGHA)Messi's missed chances cost Argentina
Messi missed as many as four promising chances. While the keeper denied his second-minute attempt, he was trapped off-side in the 22nd, whereas in the second half, he wasted a decent free-kick chance, followed by a header into the keeper again.
Saudi smart in laying off-side traps
In case one noticed minutely, Argentina fell into the off-side trap on eight instances. It proves how smart the Arabians were in laying the off-side trap for La Selección, as they certainly did their homework coming into the match.
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Argentina's aggressive attacking intent
Although the off-side trap ruled out a couple of already-scored chances for the Argentines, it indicated that the La Selección came in with a forceful attacking approach, aware of Saudi's inexperienced defence.
Argentina began the day with a 35-game unbeaten streak.
Saudi Arabia arrived with four victories, six defeats and seven draws in the past 17 games.
Hats off to Saudi's fightback
After half-time, when Argentina was leading 1-0, Saudi led a stunning fightback. Al-Shehri and Al-Dawsari pulled off the unthinkable and put the Falcons in the lead, leaving the La Selección team and fans in disbelief. With only three scoring attempts, the two shots on target resulted in goals. Also, the tremendous support the Arabians gained in the Gulf nation added to their advantage.
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Another day, another collision
For the second successive day, there was a collision between a couple of players. Saudi's Al Shahrani collided with his goalkeeper, leaving him with a bloodied head and being stretchered off for a possible concussion. The England-Iran game on Monday saw the latter's goalkeeper injuring his nose in a collision with his teammate and being stretchered off.
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