In Pictures

Saudi Arabia fans celebrate stunning World Cup win vs Argentina

Saudi Arabia scored one of the biggest World Cup upsets ever by beating Lionel Messi’s Argentina 2-1 on Tuesday.

Saudi fans cheer at Qatar's Lusail Stadium during the Argentina vs Saudi Arabia Group C match of the FIFA World Cup on November 22, 2022. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

Saudi Arabia sealed one of the biggest World Cup upsets by beating Lionel Messi’s Argentina 2-1 at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

Messi’s quest to win the one major title to elude him got off to a shocking start on Tuesday and brought back memories of Cameroon’s 1-0 win over an Argentina team led by Diego Maradona in the opening game of the 1990 World Cup.

Messi rolled in a penalty to give Argentina a 10th-minute lead. But goals by Saleh Alshehri and Salem Aldawsari in a five-minute span in the second half gave the Saudis their biggest win.

This also rivals shocking results such as Senegal beating then-titleholder France 1-0 in the 2002 tournament opener and the United States stunning England by the same score in 1950.

Argentina v Saudi Arabia — The Saudi team was constantly under attack by Argentina's forwards. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

Saudi Arabia players — Messi scored an early goal but Saudi Arabia hit back with a quick brace. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

saudi — The celebrations on the pitch were wild after the final whistle. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

Saudi fans celebrate — Saudi Arabia had never beaten Argentina before today. [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]