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The FIFA World Cup 2022 is underway and the biggest shock of the tournament has been witnessed by the fans in the Lusail Stadium as Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina 2-1 on Tuesday. Argentina and Saudi Arabia are placed in the Group C alongside Mexico and Poland and opened their campaign with a shocking defeat from Saudi Arabia.
Lionel Messi-led Argentina opened the game dominantly as the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner scored the first goal in the starting 10 minutes into the game. With the victory, Saudi Arabia snapped Argentina's 36-match unbeaten run in international circuit.
Argentina entered the game as one of the tournament favourites and lived on the expectations as they took an early lead, however, failed to continue their strong run and ended the first half with just one goal. In the second half, Saudi Arabia players ran riots as forwards Saleh Ansari and Salem Al-Dawsari scored a goal each in the starting 10 minutes into the second half.
Three reasons of Argentina's defeat:
- Offsides
- Miserable Defence
- Failed to convert crosses
The one-goal lead was enough for the largest country in the middle-east to win the game as the presence of Argentina stars like Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, Lautaro Martinez was insufficient for La Albicelestes. Argentina struggled to break the offside trap for a number of occasions as Argentina registered 10 offsides against Saudi Arabia.
Apart from offsides, passing accuracy was another problem faced by the two-time World Cup winners, who dominated the game against Saudi Arabia in terms of possession as Lionel Messi's side managed 70 per cent possession in the game.
Argentina failed miserably to convert the crosses into goals while the Saudi Arabia players toyed with the Copa America winners' defence as they made two shots on target and both resulted into spectacular goals. Also, the South American side's lackluster performance and reckless beginning cost them their World Cup opener.