Argentina is playing in the 2022 Cada World Cup soccer tournament today despite relying on the
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
Kicked a 12-yard field goal in the first half to take a 1-0 lead, but Saudi Arabia showed attacking intent in the second half, scoring two goals in five minutes to end up with a 2-1 Saudi
an upset (esp. in sports)
The win also ended Argentina's 36-match unbeaten streak in international matches.
The 32 teams in the World Cup soccer tournament are divided into eight groups, while Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland are in Group C, featuring soccer superstar
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
（Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, plays Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the group stage.
Argentina has an offense less than 2 minutes into the game.
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
Took the lead with a shot that was stopped by the Saudi Arabia goalkeeper, then kicked a 12-yard field goal in the 10th minute for the first score.
This shot is nothing but a
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
In addition to his seventh career World Cup goal, he is also the fifth player in history to have scored in four World Cups.
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
In the 22nd minute, Lautaro Martínez took a pass from a teammate and drove into the penalty area, which was ruled offside, while Lautaro Martínez took the next two shots on goal, which were also ruled offside and nullified the goal.
Argentina had 54% possession in the first half, but the second half took a turn for the worse as Saudi Arabia capitalized on its first two chances on goal, with Saleh Al Shehri breaking through in the 48th minute to level the game.
Shahoudi then rallied to take a 2-1 lead thanks to Salem Al Dawsari, who broke through an Argentine pack and fired a long shot from outside the box in the 53rd minute.
A number of Argentine attacks in the second half were deflected by Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais.
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
The team had a free kick opportunity in the 80th minute, but missed the equalizer with a shot from a high angle, and an attempted header in the 84th minute was stopped by the goalkeeper.
Abdulelah Al Amri of Saudi Arabia came up with a header in injury time to save his team from a 2-1 defeat by the Argentinean players.
an upset (esp. in sports)
Take away the opening win.
Argentina, currently ranked No. 3 in the world, won the gold medal in the 1978 and 1986 World Cups, but the last time they reached the final was in 2014, when they lost 0-1 to Germany. World No. 51 Saudi Arabia scored a goal on their debut in the World Cup in 1994.
semifinals
The team has not broken out of the group stage since then.
It's been a long time since Argentina lost 0-2 to Brazil in July 2019 in the Copa America quarterfinals, and it's been a long time since they've known what it's like to lose. This time, however, Argentina's opening match against Saudi Arabia in the group stage of the World Cup soccer tournament in Qatar was a nail-biter and ended Argentina's 36-game unbeaten streak in international matches.
