Argentina, one of the favorite teams to win the 2022 World Cup, pulled off the competition’s first major upset on Tuesday when it was beaten 2-1 by Saudi Arabia in a Group C-related match in the opening game.
Argentina. it should be noted, it has not lost for 36 matches.
The albi-celeste formation, looking to equal Italy’s unbeaten world record (37 matches), scored first, through Lionel Messi, from a penalty in the 10th minute, but Saleh Al Shehri, in the 48th, and Salem Al Dawsari, in the 53rd sealed the turnaround.
The Asian team is therefore the leader of Group C, which also includes Mexico and Poland, who face each other in Doha on Tuesday at 4 p.m. (in Lisbon).
The reaction of the Argentinian media and the newspaper was not long in coming Hello speaks of a “world coup”, and the adjective used for a game in which three goals were annulled and made a comeback is only one: “Incredible”. For the sporty, “Argentina lost much more than a match against Saudi Arabia. They forgot the players in the dressing room and started the World Cup in the worst way”.
On the other hand, the Spanish daily newspaper Bee speaks of a “global slip”. “The history of the World Cup has written another epic and unpredictable page,” the paper writes, recalling that “Argentina has not lost in the opening round” of the competition since the World Cup in Italy in 1990. In that World Cup, Albiceleste’s team was defeated by Cameroon, but reached the final (lost 1-0 to West Germany).
But Tuesday’s result is also historic, as it marks the first time the Pampas team has failed to win in two consecutive World Cups on its debut. In the last one, in 2018, the Argentina national team drew against Iceland (1-1). In addition, the Albiceleste were also defeated in a comeback – something that had not happened four years ago (against France, 4-3), precisely at the 2018 World Cup.
After the defeat, the Argentine players have not made any statements in the mixed zone of Lusail Stadium. But, quoted by As, Lionel Messi said Argentina is “a united group” and it’s time to be “all together”. “We have to show that we are strong. We haven’t lost for a long time and now we have to prepare for the game against Mexico”he stated, assuming that the team never felt comfortable on the pitch and that Saudi Arabia “used the defense line very well”. Despite the defeat, the captain of the Argentina national team took the opportunity to leave a message to the fans: “”This group is not giving up anything and will fight in the next two matches. We know we’re going to win.”
But on the other side of the barricade, the enthusiasm was natural. In the aftermath, Al Shehri, scorer of the Saudis’ first goal, said he was “very happy” with the win. “We won against this great team, it’s a spectacle for us,” said the player who has already passed through Portugal in the service of Beira-Mar and Mafra.
Despite the surprise of the result, Al Shehri stressed that the key to victory was to believe in the team’s capabilities: “If you believe in yourself, you can overcome anything and that’s what we did today. We don’t think about other teams , if we believe in ourselves we can conquer anything we want.”
SEE THE GOALS HERE:
1-0, Messi (Argentina).
1-1, Al Shehri (Saudi Arabia).
1-2, Al Dawsari (Saudi Arabia).
VIEW GAME STATISTICS HERE.
Source: DN
