LIVE: Argentina, Messi Take on Saudi Arabia at World Cup
Follow along as Lionel Messi and La Albiceleste kick off their quest to win the World Cup against Group C’s biggest underdog.
Argentina has one goal only in Qatar: Win a World Cup and send Lionel Messi out as a champion.
Messi has said that his fifth World Cup will likely be his last, and it gets started against Group C’s biggest underdog, Saudi Arabia. Argentina enters unbeaten in 36 straight matches, which is one shy of Italy’s all-time international record. Winning the 2021 Copa América has seemingly lifted a massive weight for Messi & Co., but there’s still the grand prize of them all to win for complete validation.
It all starts against the 51st-ranked Saudis, who, on paper, figure to be Argentina’s easiest opponent in the group with dates against Mexico and Poland still to come. The match’s venue will also supply some additional motivation for Messi & Co., with Lusail Iconic Stadium also being the site of the final on Dec. 18.
Follow along here for live updates and highlights of goals and key plays from throughout the match (refresh for most recent updates).
Here are the lineups for both teams:
Full World Cup Squads
Argentina
GOALKEEPERS: Franco Armani (River Plate), Emi Martínez (Aston Villa), Gerónimo Rulli (Villarreal)
DEFENDERS: Marcos Acuña (Sevilla), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United), Nahuel Molina (Atlético Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica), Germán Pezzella (Real Betis), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Nicolás Tagliafico (Lyon)
MIDFIELDERS: Rodrigo De Paul (Atlético Madrid), Enzo Fernández (Benfica), Alejandro Gómez (Sevilla), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Leandro Paredes (Juventus), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis)
FORWARDS: Thiago Almada (Atlanta United), Julián Álvarez (Manchester City), Ángel Correa (Atlético Madrid), Paulo Dybala (Roma), Ángel Di María (Juventus), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan), Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
COACH: Lionel Scaloni
Saudi Arabia
GOALKEEPERS: Nawaf Al-Aqidi (Al-Nassr), Mohamed Al-Owais (Al-Hilal), Mohamed Al-Yami (Al-Ahly)
DEFENDERS: Saud Abdulhamid (Al-Hilal), Abdulelah Al-Amri (Al-Nassr), Mohammed Al-Breik (Al-Hilal), Ali Al-Bulaihi (Al-Hilal), Sultan Al-Ghanam (Al-Nassr), Yasser Al-Shahrani (Al-Hilal), Abdullah Madu (Al-Nassr), Hassan Tambakti (Al-Shabab)
MIDFIELDERS: Abdulrahman Al-Aboud (Ittihad), Nasser Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal), Salem Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal), Salman Al-Faraj (Al-Hilal), Ali Al-Hassan (Al-Nassr), Abdulelah Al-Malki (Al-Hilal), Sami Al-Najei (Al-Nassr), Hattan Bahebri (Al-Shabab), Mohamed Kanno (Al-Hilal), Abdullah Otayf (Al-Hilal), Riyadh Sharahili (Abha)
FORWARDS: Nawaf Al-Abed (Al-Shabab), Firas Al-Buraikan (Al-Fateh), Saleh Al-Shehri (Al-Hilal), Haitham Asiri (Al-Ahly)
COACH: Hervé Renard