Argentina have taken a 1-0 lead against Saudi Arabia at the end of the first half of their opening encounter of the Qatar World Cup at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.
The Albiceleste captain Lionel Messi opened the scoring for his side in the 10th minute of the match through a penalty. Saudi defender Al Bulayahi fouled Leandro Paredes inside the D-box at the time Messi attempted a corner kick. The referee immediately used the VAR to check whether it was a foul or not. The TV reply clearly showed it was a foul, so the referee had no problem making the decision in favor of Argentina.
Read More: Qatar World Cup: Messi scores as Argentina take 1-0 lead against Saudi Arabia
After taking an early lead, Argentina continued to play the way they planned for the match. They tried to create an attack from the back, but the Saudi Arabian defenders were focusing on high-line defense, which caused problems for the Argentine forwards.
Argentina scored three more goals after that, in the 22nd minute by Leo Messi, the 28th minute by Lautaro Martinez, and the 34th minute but all were ruled out due to off-side.
In the last few minutes of the first half, Saudi Arabia tried to make an attempt, but neither of their attempts was successful. In the end, the first half ended with a 1-0 lead for Argentina against Saudi Arabia in Group C's opening match of the Qatar World Cup.