Saudis celebrate famous win over tournament favourites Argentina at World Cup

Saudi Arabia shocked Argentina in the World Cup on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over Lionel Messi's side, prompting an outpouring of Arab pride amid the first staging of soccer's top tournament in the Middle East.

King Salman declared a public holiday in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to mark the achievement, a feather in the cap of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who recommended the royal order according to state media. Prince Mohammad was not seen at the match but had been front and center at the tournament opening on Sunday.

One of Prince Mohammad's brothers, Prince Saud, posted pictures on Instagram showing the crown prince prostrating in thanks to God in a room where his other brother, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz, was also present, shown holding a Saudi flag and standing next to a smiling crown prince.

It was also a sweet moment for host Qatar, which is facing intense criticism over human rights in the conservative Muslim country. Qatar's emir draped the Saudi flag over his shoulders at the match. A Doha skyscraper flashed "Congratulations Greens."

"Wow! I have all the feelings right now. We beat Argentina, one of the great teams!" said Saad from Riyadh, who is in Qatar for two weeks and was wearing a green Saudi Falcons scarf. "Our guys played so well — everything went right inside the stadium today. It was amazing."

Copa America champion Argentina came into the match on a 36-match unbeaten streak and appeared to be on their way to a straightforward victory after Messi stroked home an early penalty.

On his fifth and final quest for the only major trophy to elude him, Messi, 35, scored a 10th-minute penalty in a dominant first half display by Argentina during which he and Lautaro Martinez also had a combined three goals disallowed for offside.

But Saudi Arabia, the second-lowest ranked team in the tournament after Ghana, threw caution to the wind at the start of the second half, charging at Argentina in front of a frenzied 88,012-strong crowd to end their opponents' unbeaten run.

Saudi Arabia equalized early in the second half through Saleh al-Shehri, silencing the hordes of Argentina fans.

And just minutes later the Green Falcons were in front when Salem al-Dawsari rifled an unstoppable shot into the top corner after a delightful piece of trickery.

Argentina laid siege to the Saudi goal as the minutes ticked down, but goalkeeper Mohammad al-Owais proved unbeatable and the final whistle sparked scenes of jubilation.

"Thank God, the players were up to it and we wiped them. They were relying on one player, we competed as a team and we wiped them, we are up to it. Watch out for Saudi Arabia because when it hits, it hurts," said Saudi fan Abdelaziz al-Khwatem.

Argentina, who last failed to reach the knockout phase in 2002, will be dumped out as early as Saturday if they lose their second match to Mexico.

"It's a very heavy blow, a defeat that hurts, but we must continue to have confidence in ourselves," said Messi, who came closest to lifting the World Cup when Argentina lost to Germany in the 2014 final. "This group is not going to give up. We will try to beat Mexico."

Saudi's French coach Herve Renard said the "stars were aligned" for his team.

"We made history for football," he added. "It will stay forever, this is most important. But we also have to think about looking forward. We still have two difficult games before us."

A Saudi television station showed a long line of cars with veiled women standing in their open sunroofs waving the Saudi flag. Celebrating children gave the victory sign.

Other Arab fans were also thrilled, including Tunisians — whose team drew 0-0 against Denmark later on Tuesday.

"I'm so proud," said Hoda Salmi, who resides in Qatar, as other Tunisian fans ululated.

"It was a huge joy to see Saudi's win," said compatriot Yusra Khalil at a fan zone with her husband and two young daughters. "The fact that the World Cup is in Qatar and we're Arabs — it gives us a lot of energy and excitement."

The entire game was played in an extraordinary atmosphere at the Lusail Stadium, with Argentina's traditionally massive and raucous following matched by the thousands of Saudis who had come over the border to cheer on their team.

"We were expecting Saudi would be easy and to score five goals against them. But the strategy of the Saudis at the end was not to let us have the ball at all. They made the goals and that was it," said 21-year-old Argentinian fan Juliana Vega.

Poland played out a goalless draw with Mexico in the other Group C match, with Robert Lewandowski missing a second-half penalty.

The Barcelona striker was denied a maiden World Cup goal when his 58th-minute spot-kick was saved by veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

In the last match of Tuesday, Messi's Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe scored in the 69th minute as France easily disposed of Australia 4-1 to take control of Group D.

France coach Didier Deschamps is without first-choice midfielders Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante for the whole tournament, while Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema has also been ruled out.

Denmark and Tunisia each took a point from their scoreless draw in the other match in the group, with talisman Christian Eriksen appearing in his first match in a major tournament since suffering a cardiac arrest during the European Championship last year.

Saudi Arabia's dramatic win shifted the focus — for a time, at least — to the action on the pitch, but Messi's great rival Cristiano Ronaldo was soon making the headlines again.

Manchester United said that the 37-year-old forward, currently with the Portugal squad in Qatar, will leave the club with "immediate effect" following last week's incendiary television interview.

Ronaldo had said he felt "betrayed" by the club and had no respect for manager Erik ten Hag.

And in Qatar, Belgium's Jan Vertonghen said he was "afraid" to talk about human rights after European nations decided not to wear a rainbow-themed captain's armband.

Seven countries, including England and Germany, abandoned plans to wear the armbands at the World Cup because of the threat of FIFA disciplinary action, including bookings.

They had been viewed as a symbolic protest against laws in the host nation, where homosexuality is illegal.

"I'm afraid if I say something about this I might not be able to play tomorrow," the defender said. "It's an experience I've never felt in football before. I feel controlled. I'm afraid to even say something about this."