Saudi Arabia’s squad are all set to receive a princely gift as a reward for their stunning comeback win over Argentina in Qatar that saw them shock one of the pre-tournament favourites in stunning fashion.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud will present each of his nation’s newest heroes with a Rolls Royce after they fought back from 1-0 down to beat Lionel Messi’s side 2-1, according to Malay Mail.
The Green Falcons now top Group C against the odds, with Mexico and Poland playing out a drab 0-0 draw, leaving two-time winners Argentina bottom of the pile.
A national holiday had already been announced the day after the win, with many of the country’s workers in both the public and private sectors given the day off to celebrate.
It is not the first time that a Rolls Royce has been awarded to a Saudi Arabian player, with Saeed Al-Owairan receiving one of the luxury cars after scoring the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Belgium in the 1994 tournament.
Saudi Arabia had fallen behind in the first half to a Messi penalty, with things looking bleak for Herve Renard’s side before a blistering performance after the break.
Saleh Al Shehri got his side back on level terms three minutes into the second period before Salem Aldawsari’s stunning winner just five minutes later, which secured one of the World Cup’s great upsets.
‘When you are coming into a World Cup you need to believe in yourself. Everything can happen in football,’ said Renard after the game.
‘Sometimes the opponent is not at their best motivation. This has happened to us when playing a lower-ranked team. This is what other people don’t understand.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud will award the squad Rolls Royces on their return from Qatar.
‘Imagine Lionel Messi is playing versus Saudi Arabia. He will say they have to start well and win but you know the motivation is not like it would be playing Brazil. This is normal.
‘We have made history for Saudi football and it will stay forever, that is most important, but we also need to look forward because we still have two very difficult games to play.’
Saudi Arabia had just 30% of the ball in a game that saw the losing side dominate most statistics other than the scoreline.
Argentina had 15 shots to Saudi Arabia’s three, and nine corners to the latter’s two, but were found offside a staggering 10 times in the game – more than their tally from the entire 2018 World Cup.
Renard added: ‘Today all the stars in the sky were in a line for us but we can’t forget that Argentina are a fantastic team.
‘They came here without losing in 36 games, they are South American champions and they have an amazing player, but this is football. Sometimes something completely crazy can happen.’
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