Argentina vs Saudi Arabia LIVE: World Cup 2022 result and reaction as Saudi Arabia claim stunning shock win
Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia: Lionel Messi scored early on but a stunning comeback ensured an all-time great World Cup shock
Saudi Arabia beat Argentina to record one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history with a 2-1 win over Lionel Messi’s side thanks to a scintillating second-half comeback.
On his fifth and final quest for the only major trophy to elude him, the 35-year-old Messi scored a 10th-minute penalty in a dominant first-half display where he and Lautaro Martinez also had three goals disallowed for offside.
But Saudi Arabia, the second-lowest ranked team in the tournament after Ghana, threw caution to the wind at the start of the second half, charging at Argentina’s defence in front of a frenzied 88,012 crowd.
Saleh Al-Shehri squeezed in a low shot in the 48th minute while Salem Al-Dawsari curled in a scorching strike from the edge of the penalty area in the 53rd minute to leave Argentina and Messi looking utterly shell-shocked in the Group C opener. Despite plenty of possession after that, Argentina were unable to best Saudi Arabia, who were competing in their sixth World Cup but had never previously won an opening game.
Relive all the action with our live blog below:
Mexico 0-0 Poland
72 mins: Szymanski is replaced by Frankowski for Poland.
Mexico 0-0 Poland
72 mins: Two Mexico substitutions to be made.
Wolves forward Raul Jimenez, who has been recovering from an injury, is on; so is Carlos Rodriguez.
They replace Herrera and Martin.
Mexico 0-0 Poland
67 mins: Some decent interplay between Lozano and Vega on the right wing ends with the latter smashing a shot well over the Poland crossbar.
Mexico 0-0 Poland
65 mins: CHANCE!
A Mexico cross is whipped in, and a quick-reaction header diverts the ball towards goal at some pace!
Szczesny shows good reflexes to dive across goal and parry the ball away!
Mexico 0-0 Poland
Mexico 0-0 Poland
Mexico 0-0 Poland
61 mins: A yellow card is awarded, but it’s not clear if it’s for Mexico’s coach or assistant coach.
Mexico 0-0 Poland
Mexico 0-0 Poland
57 mins: PENALTY SAVED!
Lewandowski shoots low and hard to Ochoa’s left, but the Mexico goalkeeper is equal to it!
There’s a scramble for the ball thereafter, but Mexico survive – for now!
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments