Embarrassing bankruptcy for Lionel Messi (35)!
Co-favourite Argentina, despite being in the lead at half-time, sensationally lost their World Cup opener 2-1 to Saudi Arabia. For the two-time world champion Argentina it is the first bankruptcy after 36 (!) unbeaten games in a row – and a bitter World Cup humiliation!
The “Albiceleste” got off to a perfect start!
Abdulhamid grabs Paredes from a corner, causing him to fall. After the VAR notice, referee Vincic looks at the scene himself on the screen and points to the point. Messi thanks him, loads Al-Owais and casually pushes the ball into the left corner – 1:0 (10th)!
Conspicuous before the penalty kick: Lautaro Martínez puts the ball on the spot for boss Messi and ‘protects’ him from protesting players from Saudi Arabia.
Then Argentina with an “offside goal hat-trick”!
Both Messi (22nd) and twice Martínez (27th/35th) scored the supposed 2-0. But the Argentines were just offside for all three goals – bad luck for Messi and Co..
After the break, Saudi Arabia looked like a different person and caused great humiliation for Messi!
First, Al Shehri hits the far corner to equalize (48′). Then Al-Dawsari turned the game completely upside down with a dream goal. The striker lets several Argentinians get out and flicks the ball beautifully into the corner – the 2:1 (53rd) for the blatant outsider!
After falling behind, the South Americans press for the equaliser. But Al-Owais saved Saudi Arabia’s victory with a class parade (63rd) and made the enthusiastic Saudi supporters cheer in the Lusail Iconic Stadium, which was packed with 88,012 spectators.
★★★
Before kick-off there was chaos around the stadium: The shuttle buses stopped nowhere and had to wait 20 minutes due to a traffic jam before the passengers were let out on a motorway bridge and had to walk the rest to the stadium.
Shortly thereafter, the traffic jam cleared and people tried to get back on the buses. Result: Even after the kick-off, hundreds of fans were still standing in front of the blocks. However, this did not detract from the atmosphere in the stadium.