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Saudi Arabia declares public holiday after historic Fifa World Cup win

It applies to all employees in both public and private sectors, as well as all students across the country

Published: Tue 22 Nov 2022, 7:33 PM

Updated: Wed 23 Nov 2022, 1:23 AM

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Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

Saudi Arabia has declared November 23 (Wednesday) as a public holiday in the kingdom to celebrate its historic win against Argentina in the Fifa World Cup in Qatar.

It applies to all employees in both public and private sectors, as well as all students across the country. The Saudi stock exchange will be closed on Wednesday and will reopen on Thursday, state TV reported on Tuesday.


Saudi Arabia beat title favourites Argentina 2-1 at the Lusail Stadium in Doha on Tuesday in one of the greatest World Cup upsets in history.

Saudi fans will long celebrate their team's stunning victory and their French coach Herve Renard could quickly become a national hero.

The team had never previously won their first match at a World Cup, suffering a 8-0 defeat by Germany in 2002 and a 5-0 loss to Russia in 2018.

This isn't the first time a public holiday has been declared after a World Cup win. Cameroon's stellar performance against Argentina in the opening match of 1990's tournament – often referred to as one of the biggest upsets in football history – also saw a holiday declared in Cameroon the very next day.

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