By Victor Kanayo
After a stunning comeback victory against star-studded Argentina side, Saudi Arabia has declared a national holiday for Wednesday November 23 to celebrate their football team’s incredible 2022 World Cup victory.
According to reports, all public and private sector employees and students in Saudi Arabia will take a day off after their national team beat Argentina 2-1 in one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history.
The Gulf state is currently ranked a lowly 51st in the world behind hosts Qatar and came into the tournament with low expectations in a group with Argentina, who were tipped by many to challenge for ultimate glory.
But in a truly stunning turn of events, the underdogs sent the team ranked number three in the world crashing to the bottom of Group C with a stellar 2-1 victory.
Saudi fans were pictured performing a Cristiano Ronaldo-style ‘SIU’ celebration en-masse as they filed out of the stadium in giddy scenes of pure joy.
And now, Saudi Arabians can continue their celebrations a day as King Salman approved plans to give all employees and students a national holiday, reports the Saudi Press Agency.
In the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, football fans had gathered to watch their team play against Argentina and as the final whistle blew, the elated fans erupted in joy.
Saudis, including children, waved their national from from the windows of speeding cars as they smiled in disbelief at what their football team had just achieved against Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
Saudi Arabia, the second-lowest ranked team in the tournament after Ghana, threw caution to the wind at the start of the second half, charging at Argentina’s defence in front of a frenzied 88,012 crowd.
“Thank God, the players were up to it and we wiped them. They were relying on one player, we competed as a team and we wiped them, we are up to it. Watch out for Saudi Arabia because when it hits, it hurts,” said Saudi fan Abdelaziz al-Khwatem.
A Saudi television station showed a long line of cars with veiled women standing in their open sunroofs waving the Saudi flag. Other cars carried celebrating children giving the victory sign.
The entire game was played in an extraordinary atmosphere at the Lusail Stadium, with Argentina’s traditionally massive and raucous following matched by the thousands of Saudis who had come over the border to cheer on their team.
