On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina’s Lionel Messi-led team 2-1 in their first FIFA World Cup 2022 match (22 November).

They demonstrated to the world that beating a team requires passion and zeal, not big names. To defeat Argentina, who was on a 36-match winning streak, required a great deal of courage, determination, and execution.

Saudi Arabia got off to a bad start when Argentinian captain Messi scored from the penalty spot in the 10th minute.

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Argentina scored three more goals, one by Messi and two by Lautaro Martinez, but all three were ruled out for offside. Nonetheless, Argentina led 1-0 at the end of the first half. Argentina was favoured because the team in White and Sky Blue had never lost a World Cup game after leading 1-0 after 1958.

Herve Renard, on the other hand, believed the Green Falcons could beat Argentina if they were motivated enough.

The French-born coach then took charge and addressed the team at halftime. Renard was seen motivating the Green Falcons and sharing some valuable insights in a viral social media video.

Renard asserted that Saudi Arabia’s circumstances were favourable and that Argentina misjudged his team after they pulled off one of the greatest World Cup upsets against the Copa América champions.

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He said – “When you are coming into a World Cup you need to believe in yourself. Everything can happen in football. Sometimes the opponent is not at their best motivation. This has happened to us when playing a lower-ranked team. This is what other people don’t understand.”

“Imagine Lionel Messi is playing versus Saudi Arabia. He will say they have to start well and win but you know the motivation is not like it would be playing Brazil. This is normal. We have made history for Saudi football and it will stay for ever, that is most important, but we also need to look forward because we still have two very difficult games to play.”

“Today all the stars in the sky were in a line for us but we can’t forget that Argentina are a fantastic team. They came here without losing in 36 games, they are South American champions and they have an amazing player, but this is football. Sometimes something completely crazy can happen. “A lot of Saudi fans came today and I told my players to also think about the 35 million Saudi people at home. They were all waiting for something new.”

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In terms of the game, Saudi Arabia appeared to be a completely different team in the second half. The Green Falcons equalised just minutes into the second half, with Saleh Al-Shehri scoring in the 48th minute. But the team knew the job wasn’t done yet. They needed one more goal to take the lead, and Salem Al-Dawsari delivered in the 53rd minute.

Argentina was expected to make a comeback and, at the very least, draw the game with plenty of time left in the second half. But the Green Falcons were unfazed. Despite Argentina’s dominance of the ball, Saudi Arabia maintained their lead and eventually won the game 2-1.