Argentina kickoff their FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign with a shocking 1-2 loss to Saudi Arabia, ending their 36 games unbeaten run.
Tale of two halves Lusail as Argentina bowed to Saudi Arabia after two second half goals by Hervé Renard led side cancelled out a Lionel Messi first half penalty.
Lionel Scaloni’s side dominated proceedings and even scored five first half goals but unfortunately, only the ten minute penalty from Lionel Messi counted as the four others were ruled out for offside.
Lionel Messi got the two time world Champions make a promising start as their pressure made a Saudi defender penalized for a foul on Leandro Paredes in his own box, presenting Lionel Messi the chance to open his account in the tournament.
The PSG forward convert for his seventh FIFA World Cup goal and his first from the spot in the tournament. In the process, Messi also becomes the fifth player to score in four different FIFA World Cup finals.
Pelé, Uwe Seeler, Mislorav Klose and Cristiano Ronaldo are the fourth other players to achieve the feat.
Unfortunately, that would be the only thing Argentina would cheer in the match. Four more goals, one for Messi and three for Lautaro Martinez before the half time break were rightly ruled out for offisde by the VAR.
Four minutes after the restart, Saudi Arabia started their own party. Al Buraikan with a well weighted blobbing pass to set Saleh Al Shehri through on goal.
The Al Hilal striker beat Christian Romero before firing past Emiliano Martinez to restore parity for the underdog.
Argentina looked stunned but it was just about to get worse as four minutes later, Hervé Renard’s side are in front.
Salem Al Dawsari fired a stunning strike past Emiliano Martinez after some beautiful footwork inside the Argentina area for 2-1 Saudi Arabia.
Argentina made multiple changes as they push for an equaliser and maybe go on to win it but unfortunately, the Saudi Arabia’s compact defense stood up to everything they threw at them as it finished 2-1 to the Asian nation.
Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi
