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:
Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
45+4 mins: Great ball in by Eriksen but it’s an equally great header awayy by Tunisia’s Yassine Meriah.
And that should be that...
Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
45+3 mins: Hojbjerg does well to win a foul just outside the box to the right.
Final chance for Denmark before the break...
Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
45 mins: Denmark going to be forced into a substitution here!
Thomas Delaney has gone down in the centre of the pitch with an injury he sustained in a tackle...
He’s been replaced by Mikkel Damsgaard.
Here’s a rarity too - a normal amount of added time! Four minutes at the end of the first-half - and even that’s a lot for a first-half!
Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
43 mins: What a save from Kasper Schmeichel!
Issam Jebali is played through - the Tunisia striker chips the Denmark keeper but the ex-Leicester man somehow gets a right-hand to the ball, tipping it wide!
Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
42 mins: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg looks to beat Laidouni with a flip-flap before going over in the box... he wants a penalty but not enough in it for the referee.
Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
39 mins: The ball breaks to Tunisia’s Aïssa Laïdouni in the box from a corner but he can’t find the target - but boy did he get some power behind that shot!
Just over five to go until half-time... still level here.
Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
34 mins: Ambitious effort from Hojbjerg from range - straight at the Tunisia keeper Aymen Dahmen who holds on comfortably.
Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
31 mins: Pinpoint floated ball over the Tunisian defence by Kjaer - Olsen gets on the end of it but Tunisia’s Ali Abdi gets a foot in.
Tunisia eventually clear their lines from the corner...
Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
27 mins: Wicked ball in from the left is inviting for Denmark striker Andreas Skov Olsen.. but the Club Brugge man can’t quite get there in time!
Denmark have found their feet in this game.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments