Nfter the sensational win against Argentina (2-1) and its superstar Lionel Messi at the World Cup, Saudi Arabia declared Wednesday a national holiday. This was reported by the official Saudi news agency a few hours after the end of the preliminary round match. It was ordered “that tomorrow, Wednesday, should be a public holiday for all employees in all areas of the state and the private sector, as well as students of all levels of education,” it said.
Saudi Arabia prevailed against the World Cup favorites on Tuesday afternoon at the Lusail Stadium thanks to goals from Saleh al-Shehri (48th) and Salem al-Dawsari (53rd) despite Messi’s opening goal (10th, penalty kick according to video evidence).
Saudi media hailed a “historic victory” and a “heroic epic” on Tuesday. The Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais, who secured the victory against the favorites with his saves, was particularly celebrated. “A thousand, thousand congratulations, you heroes,” Saudi Sports Minister Abdalasis bin Turki al-Faisal wrote on Twitter. The head of the Saudi entertainment authority, influential sports official Turki al-Sheikh, opened entry to three amusement parks to celebrate the victory.
While the outsider enjoyed the sensational win, the Paris Saint-Germain attacker expressed contrition: “It’s a very hard blow for everyone because we didn’t expect to start like this,” Messi said after the game. “Now we have to show that we’re a real team,” demanded the 35-year-old.
Before this historic game in the Lusail Stadium, it was really just a matter of whether Messi finally lifted the golden trophy in his fifth and last World Cup, but suddenly there was a risk of being eliminated in the preliminary round – for the first time since 2002. “At the World Cup you have no time to make mistakes,” said national coach Lionel Scaloni: “And that’s how it was today. Maybe it came at the worst possible time. But we will come back and keep our heads up.”
