On the 22nd, Saudi Arabia beat Lionel Messi-led Argentina 2-1 in the opening match of the World Cup in Qatar. On the 23rd, the whole country has a day off to celebrate.
Saudi King Salman has approved Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s proposal to take a day off to celebrate the victory over Argentina, foreign media reported.
35-year-old Argentine soccer superstar Messi, who may play in the World Cup for the last time, scored his first point with a 12-yard penalty kick in the 10th minute. He and teammate Lautaro Martinez scored 3 goals in the first half, the goal was disallowed for offside, but Argentina still took the 1-0 lead. Unexpectedly, it was overturned by Saudi Arabia in the second half and lost 1-2, a big surprise.
One fan of the Argentine team expressed surprise: “We thought it would be easy to win against Saudi Arabia and score five goals, but Saudi Arabia’s final strategy was not to let us get the ball.”
It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia ranks 51st in world football, the second lowest among countries participating in this World Cup, only better than Ghana. Saudi Arabia’s victory, in addition to being the fourth victory in the team’s history since the first World Cup in 1994, is also the first Asian team to defeat Argentina at the World Cup.
