The Qatar 2022 World Cup has just had its first shocking result, and one for history.
Hosts Qatar Saudi Arabia beat Argentina 2-1 in the opening match of Group C on Tuesday afternoon in Lusail. The result stunned Argentine enthusiasts in their seats at Lusail Stadium and sparked a wild birthday party among Saudis in the partisan crowd and at the close. by Fan Fest. La country’s cutting-edge 4-4-1-1 formation was putting constant pressure on the heavily favored Argentines, and the main defensive games beaten in the game stored the day for the Saudis.
One of the most exciting World Cup scenarios was the quest for 35-year-old Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, a six-time FIFA World Player of the Year, to finally win a World Cup title. Messi, who scored Argentina’s only penalty goal in the 10th minute against Saudi Arabia, reached the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil; however, Argentina lost to Germany. The World Cup is far from over for Messi and his friends: there is still a way to get out of the organizational level and qualify for the knockout levels. But things are now confusing for Messi.
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Messi received his first penalty kick in the minute on Tuesday. But defender Mohammed Al-Owais made a stop by diving in with one hand to keep the game goalless. After Messi’s penalty gave Argentina a 1-0 lead, Argentina threatened to flee. with the match: however, a trio of offsides cancelled a goal from Messi and two from Lautaro Martinez.
Lucky to be leading 1-0 at half-time, Saudi Arabia pounced in just after the break. In the 48th minute, Saleh Alshehri equalized the attack with a left-footed shot. About five minutes later, Salem Aldawsari fired an internal laser at the moment. Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez can point the finger, and now Saudi Arabia had a fantastic 2-1 lead.
From there, Al-Owais shone. He dived to his right to avoid a close-range shot near the target in the 83rd minute. About 10 minutes later, in the time of prevention, Al-Owais gained a little help: he went off his line and fell into a collision. But in the scrum, Abdulelah Al-Amri skillfully slid towards the goal line and avoided a potentially equalizing shot with his header. Moments later, in the last seconds of the match, No. 3 had a transparent look with a headbutt: however, Al-Owais jumped, as high as he could, to rock him. Saudi Arabia then waited for the whistle, which ended the match. The Saudis had ended up stunned.
Saudi Arabia is ranked 51st in FIFA’s world rankings; Argentina is third. Mexico (#13) and Poland (#26), which includes two-time FIFA defending player of the year Robert Lewandoswki, all of Group C. Entering this match, Argentina had the third best chance of winning the World Cup. , only Brazil and France, according to research firm Sports Perform. While Argentina had a 10. 5% chance of winning the name, Saudi Arabia has a 0. 06% chance. In other words, Argentina was 175 times more likely to win the name than Saudi Arabia. Arabia. Sports Perform’s AI style gave Argentina an 87% chance of qualifying for the knockout stage; Saudi Arabia was the least likely team at the time, at 19%, to rank among the 32 organizations in the organizing stage, ahead of Costa Rica.
Throw away all the numbers now. After today’s game, the big question is whether this commotion will be an aberration or enough to shake the confidence of Messi’s Argentina, which until today accumulated a streak of 36 consecutive wins that approached the past record of 37 set by Italy. like Messi and the past Diego Maradona. Indeed, the last time Argentina won the World Cup in 1986, at Maradona’s heyday, a fact that hasn’t escaped the 35-year-old soccer star.
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In a March 2019 interview with South African radio 94. 7. , Messi cited Argentina’s loss to France in the knockout stages of the 2018 World Cup Russia as a career low, prompting him to break away from foreign involvement. I got up, ran away with my circle of family and forgot everything,” he said. “I tried to isolate myself from everything for a while, adding to the selection. “of the Argentine national team” if a circular had been withdrawn earlier.
Messi is not alone in his quest for “greatest of all time” status. Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo is also in his fifth attempt to lead his country to its first World Cup victory. Both players have scored seven World Cup goals during their careers and are described as rivals.
But thanks to Saudi Arabia’s historic effort, Messi’s coveted World Cup name is now a little further away.