The Qatar World Cup 2022 kicked off on Day 3, with Saudi Arabia delivering one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history.
Less than 18 months after having a heart attack at Euro 2020, Christian Eriksen made an incredible comeback to major tournament football as Denmark and Tunisia played out an entertaining 0-0 draw.
Guillermo Ochoa brilliantly saved a penalty from Robert Lewandowski as Mexico were held to a 0-0 draw against Poland. World cup holders, France, dominated Australia beating them 4-1 to start off their title defence in grand fashion.
Are you ready to place your bets on our platform? Here’s what you need to know!
Day 3 results
- ➡️ Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia
- ➡️ Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
- ➡️ Mexico 0-0 Poland
- ➡️ France 4-1 Australia
Interesting facts from Yesterday
- 🏟️ Argentina lost a World Cup match for the first time since the 1930 final after leading at halftime
- 🏟️ Lionel Messi becomes the first Argentinian player to score in 4 world cups
- 🏟️ Robert Lewandowski is yet to score a single world goal
- 🏟️ Oliver Giroud equals Thierry Henry record of 51 goals for France
Saudi Arabia vs Argentina
Saudi Arabia earned a spot in World Cup after climbing back from a goal down to shock Argentina and won 2-1 at the Lusail Stadium. No one gave Saudi Arabia any shot of winning as evidenced by the bettings on Wintop.
Argentina had put the ball into the back of the net three times, but Messi and Lautaro Martinez were both denied by offside flags. After a controversial VAR ruling, Lionel Messi converted a penalty in the 9th minute, but Saleh Al-Shehri equalised just three minutes into the second half.
Herve Renard’s team showed no signs of letting up, and the high line that may have cost them the game also allowed them to commit more players to the penalty area, allowing Salem Al-Dawsari to score. He still had a lot of work to do, but he did it in style, escaping three defenders before unleashing a shot that went straight to the top corner.
After that, Argentina continued to attack Saudi Arabia in an effort to equalize but every time, a man in green reached out to tackle or threw a body in the way to block.
Denmark vs Tunisia
At the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Tunisia held Denmark to a draw in their World Cup opening match.
Christian Eriksen, who was playing for Denmark after having a cardiac attack in their Euro 2020 opener just last summer, was largely restrained, though he did force Aymen Dahmen to make a superb stop late in the game.
Tunisia, on the other hand, were unfazed by their reputation and, perhaps inspired by Saudi Arabia’s stunning win over Argentina and a raucous crowd acclaiming every tackle, made life difficult for the Danes.
Offside rulings prevented goals for both teams, and Andreas Cornelius of Denmark inexplicably missed from a yard away. There was 95th-minute suspense as referee Cesar Ramos checked the pitchside monitor for a potential Denmark penalty for handball, only to stay with his previous ruling.
Denmark, one of the in-form teams coming into the world cup will need to find their form if they are to advance from what appears to be a challenging group.
Mexico vs Poland
Mexico and Poland played out an entertaining 0-0 draw at Stadium 974 in Doha. Mexico had the ball for most of the game but the best chance of the match went to Polish striker Robert Lewandowski who could not convert from 12 yards.
Backed by an energetic crowd, Mexico started well and began causing some problems for the Polish defence. They were able to get in behind the Polish Center backs but the end product was missing. Poland to their credit did create some chances but barely troubled Mexican keeper Ochoa.
The second half began the same way with Mexico taking the initiative. But in the 52nd minute, Poland was given a penalty after their star striker Lewandowski was brought down by Hector Moreno.
The Poland captain may have 76 goals to his credit, but that penalty kick didn’t give him his 77th. Robert Lewandowski’s shot from the penalty spot was brilliantly saved by Guillermo Ochoa’s diving save to his right.
