The third day of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar began in a distinctive way for the Arabs, as the Saudi national team defeated its Argentine counterpart, and that was followed by joy, celebrations, official and popular support, and a royal order to consider Wednesday an official holiday in the Kingdom.
The Arab joy was completed after that, albeit in an incomplete way, after the Tunisian national team tied with its Danish counterpart, in a confrontation that the "Carthage Eagles" could have settled with more than one goal during the first half.
Historic victory for Saudi Arabia over Argentina
The Saudi national team entered history from the widest of its gates, by defeating Argentina 2-1 at Lusail Stadium, which is the first victory for the Saudi “Akhdar” over “Tango” in 5 matches that brought them together, including the Qatar World Cup match.
This victory came despite the progress of Argentina through Lionel Messi from a penalty kick, but the goals of Saleh Al-Shahrani and Salem Al-Dosari, and behind them the legendary steadfastness of goalkeeper Muhammad Al-Owais, turned the tables on the two-time world champion.
The role of French coach Hervé Renard, the Saudi coach, in this victory cannot be denied, and the manly and disciplined performance of the Saudi players on the field.
The Saudi national team stopped Argentina's "undefeated" series at 36 consecutive matches, so that the Italian national team's record (37 matches) remained steadfast.
Emir of Qatar with the flag of Saudi Arabia
The Saudi national team was supported and encouraged by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, Emir of the State of Qatar, who attended the match from Lusail Stadium.
And Prince Tamim bin Hamad appeared in a video clip, wearing the Saudi flag, amid the joy of the masses, who met this with shouts of joy.
His Highness Prince # Tamim_bin_Hamad with the Saudi flag in the match # Saudi Arabia_Argentina # World_Cup_Qatar 2022 pic.twitter.com/hHuW2t2V6O
- Khaled Jassem (@khalidjassem74) November 22, 2022
After the match ended with the victory of Saudi Arabia, Prince Tamim bin Hamad joked with the fans of "Al-Akhdar" and told them: "He returned, not the first match and salvation, complete it again."
His Highness Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, may God protect him, is joking with the Saudi public:
he returned to complete it 😃 pic.twitter.com/8lZC7XFFtg
- Khaled Jassem (@khalidjassem74) November 22, 2022
Standing beside the Emir of the State of Qatar were Raja Allah Al-Salami, Assistant Minister of Sports of Saudi Arabia, and a number of its officials.
Official vacation
The Saudi fans lived a historic day after their team's victory over Argentina, led by Messi, and this feeling doubled after an official royal decision.
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) provided good news to the Saudis, and said: "The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques directs that tomorrow, Wednesday, be a holiday for all employees in all sectors of the state, the private sector, and male and female students in all educational stages."
# The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques directs that tomorrow, Wednesday, be a holiday for all employees in all sectors of the state and the private sector, and male and female students in all educational stages.# SPA pic.twitter.com/yRdz7mEojN
- SPA Royal News (@spagov) November 22, 2022
Ali Al-Bulayhi to Messi: "You will not win today"
Ali Al-Bulayhi, the Saudi national team player, entered into an apparently unfriendly dialogue with Argentina captain Messi, while the "Al-Akhdar" players celebrated the second goal.
Al-Bulayhi appeared, referring to the Saudi slogan with all seriousness and firmness, and revealed the details of that dialogue: "I told him that he would not win, I told him that he would not win," while the "flea" smiled at him.
Al-Bulayhi, my brother 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/V9OullFT7y
- Saleh bin Mansour (@IamSaleh14) November 22, 2022
Yasser Al-Shahrani's injury
The strong injury of Yasser Al-Shahrani, the Saudi defender, disturbed some of the joys of "Al-Khidr", as he collided with his colleague Al-Owais, and he was subsequently removed on a stretcher.
The Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, ordered the player to be urgently transported on a private plane for treatment in Germany, after he suffered a "fracture of the jaw and bones of the left side of the face", during the Saudi-Argentina match.
A strong injury to the Saudi national team player, Yasser Al-Shahrani # World Cup # Qatar 2022 # Qatar2022 # FIFA WorldCup # TodosJuntos # Argentina # Green # Falcons @Argentina @afa @SaudiNT @saudiFF pic.twitter.com/3yJ8ud9Ot0
- Al-Kass channels (@alkasschannel) November 22, 2022
Al-Shahrani had suffered a very severe injury during the match - Tuesday - after colliding directly with goalkeeper Muhammad Al Owais.
And according to Saudi press reports, "After performing the x-rays, it was found that Yasser Al-Shahrani had a fracture in the jaw and the bones of the left side of the face, and that he needed rapid surgical intervention due to internal bleeding."
Al-Shahrani held the breath of the Saudis, Arabs and football lovers, in the 90th minute of the match, when he fell to the ground after a violent collision with the Saudi national team goalkeeper.
point for Tunisia
The Tunisian national team settled for a point from its first match in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, after its draw with its Danish counterpart at the Education City Stadium.
The "Carthage Eagles" performed distinguishedly, especially in the first half, but did not succeed in scoring, which applies to Christine Eriksen's comrades, so that the World Cup in its current version witnessed the first goalless draw.
Carthage Eagles almost opened the scoring!
Issa Al-Eidouni takes advantage of a rebound from the defense in the penalty area and launches it very powerfully with his right foot, but it passes a few centimeters over the crossbar.
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- beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) November 22, 2022
Jalal Al-Qadri, coach of the Tunisian national team, admitted that his players could have achieved the victory, noting that the enthusiasm that his team showed was thanks to the Saudi victory over Argentina.
A solid start for the world champions
The French national team hit hard, and began the title defense campaign that culminated in the 2018 World Cup in Russia with a huge victory over its Australian counterpart 4-1, despite suffering from the absence of some of its stars due to injury.
Doubt entered the hearts of the French fans after their national team was delayed by an Australian goal after just 9 minutes, but the "roosters" responded with a four-stroke that was alternately scored by Adrien Rabiot, Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud (two goals), so that the world champions topped the group, ahead of Tunisia and Denmark.
Mbappe scores the third goal for France against Australia
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Giroud, thanks to his two goals in Australia, equaled former striker Thierry Henry in the number of international goals, as each of them scored 51 goals, and he could now surpass him to be the historic scorer for the "Roosters" team.
Lewandowski does not score in the World Cup
Poland's Robert Lewandowski continued his fast from scoring in the World Cup, after his country's match against Mexico at Stade 974 ended in a goalless draw.
The confrontation between Mexico 🇲🇽 and Poland 🇵🇱 ends in a goalless draw
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- beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) November 22, 2022
Australian referee Christopher James Beth pointed to the penalty mark in favor of Poland after returning to the video referee (VAR) technique. Lewandowski hit it with the brilliance of veteran goalkeeper Francisco Guillermo Ochoa, to be the Barcelona striker with the first missed penalty kick in the World Cup in Qatar.
Lewandowski failed to score in the World Cup, in his fourth consecutive match, so the match ended in a second consecutive goalless draw in the 2022 World Cup.
Saudi Arabia is in the lead
The Saudi national team has become the biggest beneficiary of the results of the first round of Group C matches.
The Saudi “Akhdar” served itself first, by defeating Argentina 2-1, then benefited from a draw between Poland and Mexico, to sit on top of the group for a while.
Queiroz criticizes the behavior of the masses of Iran
Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, Iran's national team, made fiery statements, criticizing the behavior of some Iranian fans, who crawled to the stands of Khalifa International Stadium, to encourage the team against England.
Dozens of these fans whistled while playing the Iranian national anthem, and chanted phrases and slogans critical of the regime in their country.
Because of this, Queiroz said: "They should be here to support the team. There is no sense in their presence if they are against the players. We do not need them."
He added, "It would be better if they stayed in their homes. We do not only need them when we win, but we need them in these circumstances as well. The players can feel that."
Ronaldo joking compatriot Pepe
Cristiano Ronaldo, the star of the Portuguese national team, took advantage of his close relationship with his compatriot Pepe, the Porto defender, and drew him on paper.
But this drawing was very bad, which caused Cristiano to enter a fit of laughter, to confirm the stability of the atmosphere inside the camp of the Portuguese national team in the World Cup.
Drawn by legend Cristiano Labibi 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/XKX1ADCgnA
- Cristiano World (@c7world) November 21, 2022
Ronaldo's laughter increased after Bibi, who had previously played together in a Real Madrid shirt, saw that bad painting, and features of surprise appeared on his face.
Moroccan plan to stop Modric
Walid Regragui, coach of the Morocco national team, motivated his players before their first match against Croatia, which will take place at noon on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.
"Everyone is ready to play a historic match against the last World Cup runner-up, and it is important to commit psychologically on the field," Rekragui said in a press conference.
And the national coach revealed: "We have a specific tactic that we intend to implement against Croatia, and I have some special matters to stop the danger of Luka Modric (Real Madrid star)."
The secret of the length of stoppage time in the Qatar World Cup
The total number of minutes counted as stoppage time in the first 4 matches of the 22nd edition of the World Cup was 65 minutes, i.e. exceeding the hour by 5 minutes.
An official source revealed to Al-Jazeera the reason for calculating these minutes, which is due to the strict instructions given to the referees during the closed training camp, which was held for them in the Qatari capital, Doha, from the 9th to the 19th of this month, to count the actual lost time, no matter how long it is.
This is a precedent that occurs for the first time in the World Cup, and indeed in all continental, regional and national championships, that the real-time matches must be played accurately.
Historic win
The Saudi national team striker, Saleh Al-Shehri, described his country's victory over Argentina as historic and that it is recorded in the history of Saudi football, and he told Al-Jazeera Net: "But we have to turn the page on this match and look forward to qualifying for the second round in the history of our country's participation."
Al-Shehri also expressed his overwhelming happiness "when I saw the ball hit the net of Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez," becoming the scorer of the first Arab goal in the "Qatar 2022" World Cup.
In turn, the winger of the Saudi national team, Salem Al-Dosari, who scored the winning goal, explained that his team entered the second half and they insisted on achieving a positive result and scoring the equalizing goal early. "After this goal, hopes were raised and, thanks to God, I was able to score the second goal."
In response to a question by Al-Jazeera Net about some considering the Saudi national team the weakest team in the third group, Al-Dosari said that they will respond on the field with the next two matches, as they did against Argentina, stressing that all possibilities are open in this group, especially since there are still two matches.