Saudi Arabia coach: ‘We made history for football’

Saudi Arabia pulled off one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history by beating Lionel Messi’s Argentina 2-1 but France launched their title defense in style, AFP reported.

Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-match unbeaten streak and appeared to be on their way to a straightforward victory after Messi stroked home an early penalty.

Lionel Scaloni’s Copa America champions could have put the game beyond Saudi Arabia’s reach in the first half but had three goals chalked off for offside.

Saudi Arabia, ranked a lowly 51st in the world, equalised 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, 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 has never won the World Cup.

“This group is not going to give up.”

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.”

Defeat was a bitter setback for Argentina, who were one game away from equalling Italy’s all-time record of 37 matches unbeaten and came to this World Cup as one of the favourites.