One of the biggest shocks of the World Cup will be it.
The pre-match talk was about how Argentina could win the world title for the first time in 30 years and how Saudi Arabia had no chance.
90 minutes changed what a difference it made.
Argentina's players crept off with their supporters shocked into almost total silence after Saudi Arabia's stunning 2-1 win in Lusail Stadium.
At the half-time break, there was no sign of this result. Messi had scored from the penalty spot and three other attempts had been ruled out for not being in line with the rules.
The Saudi goals in six crazy minutes early in the second half completely changed the narrative and, despite a lot of prodding and probing from Messi and co., the little guys held on to a result that will never be forgotten by the thousands of fans fortunate enough to witness it.
While their party spilled on to the streets of Lusail, how did this result affect Messi's chances of winning the World Cup?
Saudi Arabia had previously won three World Cup games, but only advanced to the knockout stages once.
Argentina, ranked third in the world, came into the tournament with a 36 match winning streak and were tipped to win the trophy.
England's loss to the United States in 1950, South Korea's win over Italy in 2002 and Argentina's loss to Cameroon in 1990 are some of the more notable upsets in World Cup history.
A hoarse Saudi fan described the win on his way out as "our country's best ever footballing moment by such a long way" Mark Chapman said it was a "seismic" event.
Guillem Balague, who wrote Messi the Biography, said that this is what happens when you mix organisation and a sharp body in the World Cup and everyone is at the top of their game.
Everyone can run for hours if they are attacked. The most complicated thing in football is not being able to find offensive ways.
We saw one of the biggest upsets in the World Cup, but I don't think it's the last one. The England performance is even more impressive because of that.
Nedum Onouha, a former Manchester City defender, said that Saudi Arabia were comfortable in the way they were defending.
You are reminded of why we love football when things like that happen.
Anything is possible if you take the opportunities you have.
The winning goal will inspire a generation, said Joe Cole. The World Cup began. This is an amazing result.
In the history of Saudi Arabia, the result would go down.
He asked what would happen to the players after the result was known. "They will get everything" he said. It means a lot when you talk about Saudi Arabia.
A lot of people just drive over to Saudi Arabia to watch the World Cup. Three hours for one fan and 90 for another.
We don't know that they have a big football culture. Today, the fandom was present in full force. The Argentina fans were drowned out.
Argentina fans have turned out in good numbers in the Middle East, with their blue and white shirts seen everywhere in the region.
The South Americans were vocal with their songs and confident when asked about their hopes of going all the way this year.
They will need to beat Mexico and Poland in order to get out of the group stage.
The teams that take the initiative need at least some individual solutions. They weren't able to locate them.
They didn't get enough of the ball in between the lines to give Messi the ball. Every time anyone tried a dribble to beat a defender, they were found by new defenders and tracked back in an organised manner.
There was not enough space created. He was surrounded by people who disagreed with him. Argentina wasn't able to make an impact because everything was too slow.
Clinton Morrison is a former Crystal Palace player. They don't have that connection between the two players. They did not have a creativity.
They were poor. I don't think they would have scored. They will get out of the group.
It was a great game. The game was the best so far. It's wonderful. Saudi Arabia deserves it very much.
In 2002, Argentina failed to qualify for the second round of the World Cup, but South American expert Tim Vickery is not ruling them out.
"Argentina have got some regrouping today but I don't think they're out yet," he said.
What are they planning to do next? They will have to dig a deeper hole.
Saudi Arabia's win against Argentina is considered the greatest World Cup shock of all time.
Ratings measuring team strength are used to estimate the probability of a win or draw for each team.
The biggest shocks are when the match is won by the favorite with the smallest chance of victory.
| Result | Year | Chance of victory for winning team |
| Saudi Arabia 2-1 Argentina | 2022 | 8.7% |
| USA 1-0 England | 1950 | 9.5% |
| Switzerland 1-0 Spain | 2010 | 10.3% |
| Algeria 2-1 West Germany | 1982 | 13.2% |
| Ghana 2-0 Czech Republic | 2006 | 13.9% |
Get the latest results and goal notifications for any team at the Fifa World Cup by downloading the BBC Sport app: Apple - Android - Amazon
You can get a daily dose of the World Cup on the radio.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
