World Cup 2022: Saudi Arabia Beats Argentina 2-1

FIFA World Cup 2022 Football News Sports World

November 22, 2022

Last Updated Date: November 22, 2022

Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia — Photo Credit: Fifa.com

Argentina was flying from 36 matches unbeaten in a row! Lionel Messi’s Argentina has been brought down to the ground by The Asian team Saudi Arabia. Despite falling behind in the beginning, They defeated Albiceleste 2-1, giving birth to the first incident of this Year’s World Cup.

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But the first half was saying, I understand the match that Argentina is going to win by laughing! In the beginning, Messi came into the attack, and one of his shots was blocked by goalkeeper Wise. However, he could not return his penalty in the 10th minute. Messi’s goal went ahead and Argentina continued to give more strength to the attack.

In the 22nd minute, Albiceleste once again caught the ball in the net with his formula. However, Messi’s great finish goal did not take shape in the offside cut. Lionel Scaloni’s team has caught the ball twice more in the Saudi net. On those two occasions, the offside became a thorn in the way of Argentina’s goal.

Argentina could not finish the game in the first half. That’s what he paid in the second half. After the break, Saudi Arabia roared. Saudi forward Saleh Alsehri scored the goal in three minutes.

That goal gave Argentina a chance. He could not overcome the shock of the goal, nor could he defend. In the 53rd minute, the team scored again. Saudi Arabia went ahead 2-1 with a great goal from striker Salem Al Dawsari.

Argentina hadn’t Lost Since 2019

Argentina came into the tournament as the second favorite, right behind Brazil, and had not lost in 36 games since 2019. During that streak, Lionel Messi won his first major international trophy by beating Brazil in the 2021 Copa America.

Even though this Argentina team didn’t have as many stars as others, it was easy to see how they could win the tournament based on how they were playing. Messi is still one of the best players in the world up front, and the midfield and defense have been strong.

Argentina had 3 Disallowed Goals

Argentina scored four goals in the first half, but three of them were taken away because Argentina was offside.

Saudi Arabia went into the game with a clear plan: it wanted to play a high defensive line and try to catch Argentina offside. It can be a risky move. Lautaro Martinez’s goal was taken away because he was just a little bit offside.

But the plan also worked in the end. Seven times in the first half and three times in the second half, Argentina was offside. The Argentines had almost 70% of the ball and took nine corners. But the team lost because they couldn’t finish in front of the goal when they were onside.

Argentina Needs Two Wins

Argentina hasn’t lost all hope. It is still the favorite to beat Mexico and Poland, and Messi’s dream of lifting the World Cup trophy is still alive. But after what happened on Tuesday, wins in the last two games of the group stage are far from a sure thing.

If Argentina beats Mexico and Poland, it will most likely be safe to move on to the next round. But a win and a tie in those two games might not be enough if Mexico and Poland win their game later on Tuesday. If that game has a winner, Argentina will have to beat the winner if they want to keep playing on the group stage.