Watch highlights from Saudi Arabia’s upset victory over Argentina in the World Cup
There was a familiar sight 10 minutes into the first of four matches Tuesday at the World Cup in Qatar: It was Argentinian star Lionel Messi scoring a goal.
Messi converted a penalty kick to give Argentina a 1-0 lead over Saudi Arabia, and soccer fans around the world likely thought it was merely the opening salvo in what was sure to be a lopsided victory.
After the early goal, Saudi Arabia had 125-1 odds to win the match. Anyone who put money down with those odds came up a big winner.
Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari scored second-half goals and Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina 2-1.
The game started at 4 a.m. in Kansas City, so soccer fans who decided to skip the game in favor of sleep missed one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Argentina entered the game ranked third in the world by FIFA, while Saudi Arabia was 51st.
The Saudi Arabia victory ranks up there with the United States’ 1-0 win over England in 1950, North Korea’s 1-0 victory against Italy in 1966, Algeria’s 2-1 win against West Germany in 1982 and Senegal’s 1-0 victory over France in 2002.
Here are the highlights from Saudi Arabia’s victory on Tuesday, and the winning side scored a pair of beautiful goals.
This story was originally published November 22, 2022 at 8:43 AM.
