World Cup Favourite Argentina humbled by Saudi Arabia in Shock 2:1Loss

Argentina's national football team starred the first big surprise at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 by losing 1-2 to Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the tournament and, in fact, let the doubts appear on the supposed favoritism with which the 'Albiceleste' (Argentina's team nickname) arrived to the Arab country, after 36 consecutive matches without defeats in any competition.

After the final whistle, the Argentines left the field with their heads down and the Saudis jumped for joy, being aware of achieving the most important victory in their history, this is only the fourth one in 17 matches in World Cups, with which they begin to see their possibilities of reaching the round of 16 in Group C, where also Mexico's and Poland's teams are.

Argentina had just won the Copa America, beating Brazil in the final match in the Maracanã Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro. That, and the sequence of unbeaten matches, made Argentina a serious and potential candidate to become the champion, but after its performance on Tuesday, doubts will begin to appear and its rivals will treat Argentina with less respect, this is a condition that may make it vulnerable, even only because of the reason that 'if someone else beat you, I can do it too'.

A setback does not leave any team out of the group stage, but it can have its consequences if you suffer it against the weakest team -according to analysts. However, that result forces you to play perfectly in the subsequent matches and to always win, starting with Mexico, with whom Argentina will play next Saturday.

Losing the first match determines many things, but in Argentina they know that you can lose the opening game and then reach the final match. This happened at 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, when the 'Albiceleste' lost to Cameroon in its debut as defending champions, and managed to recover and get through to the title match, although they lost to Germany after a controversial penalty against them by referee Edgardo Codezal, which is a bad memory in the South American nation.

In the history of World Cups, only one team lost in the opening match and then lifted the Cup, this is an honor that belongs to the Spain national football team coached by Vicente del Bosque, that made its debut with a 1-0 defeat against Switzerland, with a goal scored by Gelson Fernandes.

On the other hand, two other FIFA World Champions drew 0-0: England in 1966, who as hosts of the World Cup that year, only drew 0-0 with Uruguay at the legendary Wembley Stadium in its World Cup debut. And Italy, who won the 1982 World Cup in Spain, which started with a goalless draw against Poland in the Municipal de Balaídos stadium.

Beyond the defeat, Argentina national football team left a bad taste in the mouth, because they never looked solid or confident on the field. The team controlled the game from the 10th minute, when they took the lead thanks to Lionel Messi's penalty goal, but then constantly fell into offside, which led to several goals being canceled, while the Saudis managed to control the pace at the back.

The draw at the beginning of the second half of the game was a shock for Lionel Scaloni's team, and the second goal was like a bucket of cold water. The coach immediately tried making changes, but in the end they did not pay off, although the attackers, including Messi, were not accurate close to the rival goal. The Argentine captain even sent the ball over the crossbar from a free kick from the edge of the area, a place from which he has scored many goals throughout his career.

The physical background also took its toll. Messi himself looked exhausted at the end, Angel Di Maria and Rodrigo de Paul as well, the main pieces on which the 'Albiceleste' is built. And the slower pace of the team weighed on the Saudi goal, which was well defended from the beginning to the end.

Argentina has a huge task to face. It is the price that it will have to pay for making their debut with a defeat, and we will have to wait to see if they recover from the initial shock and manage to advance clearly to the round of 16, or if the defeat is the reflect of an irreversible situation and Messi may have to say goodbye to the World Cup without ever having been able to win a World Cup.