The King of Saudi Arabi, Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has declared Wednesday November 23, a public holiday in celebration of the kingdom’s historic win against Lionel Messi-led Argentina at FIFA World Cup in Qatar today. Saudi Arabia beat Argentina 2-1 in one of the greatest World Cup upsets in history.
King Salman declared a public holiday for all employees and students to mark the achievement, a feather in the cap of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who recommended the royal order, state media said. Prince Mohammed was not seen at the match but had been front and centre at the tournament opening on Sunday.
“It is directed that tomorrow, Wednesday, November 23, be a holiday for all employees in all sectors of the state and the private sector, and male and female students in all educational stages.”
King Salma
On his fifth and final quest for the only major trophy to elude him, Messi, scored a 10th minute penalty in a dominant first half display by Argentina during which 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.
The entire game was played in an extraordinary atmosphere at the Lusail Stadium, with Argentina’s traditionally massive and raucous following, matched by the thousands of Saudis who had come over the border to cheer on their team.
Argentina’s tournament is now already at risk of collapsing and they face a battle to emerge from Group C as one of two qualifiers for the knockout rounds. They take on Mexico next on Saturday, after Saudi Arabia play Poland earlier on the same day.
Argentina’s loss To Saudi Arabia Among Most Stunning Upsets Ever
Saudi Arabia produced one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history on Tuesday, beating Argentina 2-1 in an astonishing Group C match.
Many had expected the South American team, ranked third in the world, unbeaten for three years and among the favorites to win the tournament, to sweep aside its opponent, ranked 48 places below it in the world rankings.
All the pre-match talk focused on Messi, one of the greatest players ever, who is playing in what is likely to be his last World Cup. The Argentina captain scored an early penalty to put his side in the lead, but two second-half goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari turned the game on its head.
According to sports data group Gracenote, which is a Nielsen company, Tuesday’s result was the biggest upset in the history of the competition.
The thousands of Saudi fans inside the Lusail Stadium couldn’t believe what they were watching as they celebrated their unexpected victory.
Such a comeback hadn’t looked remotely possible for much of the match. Argentina controlled the game after taking the lead but whatever Saudi manger Hervé Renard said at halftime worked. His team came out with a new-found belief and stood toe-to-toe with Argentina’s world-class team.
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