Bombay Tribune (Sports), Lusail: Following a shock 2-1 win over Argentina in their FIFA World Cup 2022 opener in Lusail, Saudi Arabia manager Hervé Renard said his team prepared well and the results are there for all to see.
Saudi Arabia defeated two-time world champions Argentina 2-1 in their Group C FIFA World Cup match played at the Lusail Stadium here on Tuesday.
Sky Sports quoted Renard as saying, Congratulations to these fantastic players. I decided to come to this country three and a half years ago and since then the management and the sports ministry have always supported me. Even when we two, went to visit our own prince three weeks ago, so he didn’t put any pressure on us. That’s the way you’ve got to work in football because it doesn’t work all the time when you’re putting on a lot of pressure.
We prepared very well, the results are there for all to see, but don’t forget that Argentina is still a great team. They come here having won 36 matches in a row and they are the South American champions. They have amazing players, he added. But that’s football. Sometimes things can be completely unpredictable.
Argentina started the match brilliantly and Lionel Messi converted a penalty in the 10th minute to give his team a 1-0 lead. In the first half, Argentina’s team was leading 1-0.
After this, the story of the second half completely changed. Saudi Arabia, the 51st-ranked team, came on the field with new enthusiasm and Al-Shehri scored his team’s goal to equalize the score 1-1. The Saudis took the lead five minutes later, and in the 53rd minute, Salem Al-Dawsari scored a crucial 2–1 lead. In the end, this score proved to be decisive and Saudi Arabia registered a historic victory.
