'What if Saudi Arabia win World Cup 2022?', ask fans after public holiday declared post win over Argentina
King Salman declared a public holiday in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to mark the national team's stunning 2-1 upset over Lionel Messi's Argentina at the Qatar World Cup 2022.
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FollowFootball enthusiasts witnessed something unreal on Tuesday. It was expected to be a cakewalk for Lionel Messi's Argentina, but Saudi Arabia pulled a sensational 2-1 win over the South American giants in their Group C clash at the Qatar World Cup 2022 in Doha on Tuesday. Following this historic win, King Salman declared a public holiday in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to mark the national team's stunning feat of ending Argentina's 36 games unbeaten record.
According to state media, the announcement is a feather in the cap of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who suggested the royal edict. Despite being prominently featured during the tournament opener on Sunday, Prince Mohammed was not spotted at the game.
It was also a lovely moment for the host nation, Qatar, which has been under fire for its strict laws on human rights in the conservative Muslim nation. At the game, the Emir of Qatar carried the Saudi flag on his shoulders.
A Doha skyscraper flashed "Congratulations Greens."
Messi scored a penalty in the 10th minute of Tuesday's overpowering first half for Argentina on his fifth and final attempt to win the one major title that has eluded him. He and Lautaro Martinez also had three goals disallowed for offside.
However, at the start of the second half, Saudi Arabia, the tournament's second-lowest-ranked squad after Ghana, threw caution to the wind and charged at Argentina's defence in front of an enthused 88,012 spectators.
A long row of vehicles with veiled women standing in their open sunroofs waving the Saudi flag was displayed on a national television station. Children giving the victory sign were celebrating. At some point, the significance of the win will dawn. Before the Tuesday encounter, Saudi Arabia has only ever won three World Cup games in its history.
"One for the books," Saudi Arabia coach Hervé Renard said. "Sometimes things are completely crazy."
Mohammed Alowais, the goalkeeper who made two crucial saves late in the game to preserve the victory on Tuesday at Lusail Stadium north of Doha, appeared almost subdued after the match, possibly not realising the significance of the shock.
"I am very happy about this result that we have been able to obtain against this very storied team," Alowais said. "We have prepared ourselves. We were 100% ready and hopefully we will have better results in the future. I felt we were especially good in the last minutes because we secured our three points."
Saudi Arabia will face Poland on Saturday and then take on Mexico next Tuesday. Both are probably still favorites against Saudi Arabia -- despite the upset.
The possibility that Messi and Argentina overestimated Saudi Arabia—which is ranked No. 51 in the FIFA rankings—was also put out by Renard. Argentina is No. 3. "But you know the motivation is not like you are playing Brazil," he added.
Football fans took to Twitter to react to Saudi Arabia's decision to declare November 23 as a national holiday. "Only football can be responsible for such national joy," noted one fan.
"It's a national holiday… except for the women they have no rights in Saudi Arabia," said another Twitter user. While a third enthusiast commented, "What will happen of they win the world cup? Declare half of the year a public holiday?"
A fourth user added, "This is what happens when you beat the God of football."
Also read: Qatar World Cup 2022: Top 6 moments from Argentina's shocking 1-2 loss to Saudi
Here's a look at some of the other reactions:
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