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Saudi Arabia's forward #11 Saleh Al-Shehri (left) celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group C football match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha on November 22, 2022. Photo: Odd Andersen/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Saudi national team on Tuesday pulled the first major upset of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, beating Lionel Messi’s tournament favorites Argentina in a historic 2-1 nail-biter.
The Argentinian team initiated the scoring in the 10th minute mark with a penalty kick successfully converted by Messi, the team’s captain and seven time Ballon d’Or winner.
The Argentines, known as the Albicelestes, then went on to dominate the rest of the first half, but failed to score any further goals as Saudi’s impenetrable offside trap had Messi and his teammates falling in the offside position seven times in the first 45 minutes. Two Argentinian goals were disallowed for being offside.
The Saudi team entered the second half with a fighting spirit, and managed to equalize the score three minutes after the whistle was blown with a goal from Al-Hilal striker Saleh al-Shehri. Saudi would take the lead six minutes later with a stunning goal from Salem al-Dawsari, making it 2-1 for the Arab team.
The 2-1 scoreline would stand up until the final whistle of the match, with the Argentinian team’s attempts at an equalizer blocked by Saudi’s defense and an impressive performance from goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais.
The win granted Saudi a highly important three points, as they seek to reach the knockout stages in their upcoming two matches against Poland and Mexico.
The 2022 Qatar tournament will most likely be Messi’s last World Cup with the Argentinian team, the only trophy that the player has failed to capture throughout his illustrious career.
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