'A day like this will never come again': Jubilant Saudi fans after historic World Cup win over Argentina

While the KSA fans were on cloud nine, the crestfallen Argentinians were shocked after team’s defeat that ended their 36-match unbeaten run

While Argentina fans were at a loss for words at Lusail Stadium after their star-studded team’s shock 2-1 defeat in their opening game of the Qatar World Cup, the Saudi Arabian fans savoured the team’s greatest win in history.

Argentina, one of the big favourites for the World Cup title in Qatar, went into Tuesday’s match on the back of a 36-match unbeaten run.

But little did they know that their staggering run would be halted by a team that had not won a World Cup match for 28 years.

“Today, Saudi Arabia won a World Cup match after 28 years. All these years, there were no wins in a World Cup. But today we won against Argentina. This is a historic day for my country,” said Predro, a Saudi fan.

“I hope we will have good results in the next couple of games.”

Abdullah, a Saudi journalist, was also delighted with the victory.

“It’s a historic day today. It’s a very big win for us in the World Cup. We are happy with what the team have done today. I hope the team will continue to play well,” he said.

For Ahmed, the celebrations will go long into the night.

“We are writing the history. We will celebrate all night. It’s a historic win,” he proudly said while holding the Saudi national flag.

Kasim, Ahmed’s friend, says it’s hard to believe that this day will ever come again.

“I cannot talk about this day; it’s history. It will be in history. I am so happy that we won this match. A day like this will not come again,” he said.

“Argentina are one of the best teams in this championship. So winning the first match against them will encourage the players.”

While the Saudi fans were on cloud nine, the crestfallen Argentinian still obliged every reporter that stopped them for a comment.

“The match was very bad for us today. It’s painful; I really don’t know what to say. It’s really, really sad,” said Alfredo, who has travelled from Cordoba, Argentina, for the World Cup.

“Everybody thought Argentina would win this match, but it’s football. It can happen. You need to win in 90 minutes.”

Gonzalo, another Argentinian fan, felt many of the Argentinian players were not in their best physical condition.

“I think Saudi Arabia has some good players. Argentina, I think, three-four players were physically down,” he said.

“It’s been a long year, and we didn’t know that Saudi Arabia has good players. They suddenly scored two goals (in the second half). So we have to concentrate on the next match.”

Gonzalo felt Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni would have to make some changes for the next two games.