Saudi Arabia’s 1-2 win against Argentina on Sunday was one of the most biggest upsets in World Cup history. But the fairytale win had a stuttering start as the Asian nation went into half time 1-0 down after Argentine superstar Lionel Messi had converted from the spot. That’s where their coach Herve Renard stepped in.
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After Saudi Arabia went to the dressing room at interval, Renard shared his pearls of wisdom with his team, saying, “Messi, he has the ball in the middle of the pitch and you stand [hands up] in front of the defence. You have to go and mark him in the middle. Take your phone, you can make a picture with him!”
“You don’t feel we are able to come back? You don’t feel it? You play relaxed. Come on guys, this is the World Cup. Give everything,” he was caught on camera saying in a video shared by the official Twitter handle of the Saudi Arabia national team.
22 نوفمبر 2022
يَـــــــــوم لا يُنسى 💚🇸🇦#كواليس_الأخضر ☕ 🎧 pic.twitter.com/qnLF2nxv48- Advertisement -
— المنتخب السعودي (@SaudiNT) November 24, 2022
His inspiring speech woke up his team and in the second half, goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari made sure that Saudi Arabai walked away with 3 points against their more decorated rivals.
The result brought to an end Argentina’s 36 match unbeaten streak since losing the 2019 Copa America semifinal to Brazil.
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Argentina need to immediately bounce back against Mexico on Saturday, otherwise, an embarrassing early exit awaits. This is Lionel Scaloni’s first crisis as Argentina coach — he hadn’t lost a game before the Saudis’ rally at Lusail Stadium on Tuesday — and it remains to be seen how he reacts.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, will lock horns with Poland on Saturday.
