After yesterday’s surprise win against Argentina in their first match in the 2022 World Cup, a group of Saudi Arabians, with a member who dressed in their country’s attire, took to Headrow in Leeds city centre to celebrate. The news came as a bit of a shock news to a lot of people, as they had low expectations from the Saudi Arabia team.
Saudi Arabia beat Argentina in the World Cup
Thunayan Alareefi, a member of the group from Sheffield said, “I am very excited we won, at the beginning, we were hoping to minimise the loss, but surprisingly we got the first goal. It is a big win and a huge surprise to every one of us, we saw people not only from Saudi Arabia but from many other Arab countries celebrating this win”.
The football match started with a score from Argentina by Lionel Messi just ten minutes into the game, taken as a penalty. However, Al Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari fought back for Saudi Arabia and scored two goals during the second half of the match. Alareefi added:
“What a great and historical victory for Saudi Arabia! I don’t think anyone has ever celebrated the team as I did today. I also think this is one of the most significant goals in the football history of Saudi Arabia. The team has done well.”
The win for Saudi Arabia is historic, as Argentina has always been on top of the game. Argentina has won the FIFA World Cup twice – in 1986 and 1978. In contrast, Saudi Arabia’s best performance was in USA 28 years ago, when they qualified for the last 16.
First shock of the FIFA World Cup
Andrew Peter, a football fan from Leeds, said, “Who saw this coming? This is the first shock of this year’s FIFA World Cup, most people would have bet that Almighty Argentina would have won the match”.
A Twitter post by the Saudi Embassy UK immediately after the match said the winning shows the Saudi passion for football:
Following the victory, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman announced a public holiday today, in celebration of the country’s team. Back in Leeds, local Saudis are already preparing for the hoped-for celebrations when they meet Poland for their next match on 26 November.
