Saudi Arabia boss takes a dig at Leo Messi’s ‘motivation’ [Full Statement]

Saudi Arabia vs Argentina Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina 2-1 in their Group C game of World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

Over a decade It was Argentina's first loss to a team outside of the top 50 of the FIFA World Rankings in over 10 years.

Since 1990 The loss to Saudi Arabia also saw Argentina lose their first game of a World Cup for the first time since 1990.

Saudi Arabia boss Herve Renard took a dig at Messi, saying the Argentina skipper was not as motivated against Saudi as he would have been in a game against South American rivals Brazil.

Herve Renard "Imagine Lionel Messi is playing versus Saudi Arabia. He will say they have to start well and win but you know the motivation is not like it would be playing Brazil. This is normal,” said Renard.

‘History for Saudi’ “We have made history for Saudi football and it will stay forever, that is most important, but we also need to look forward because we still have two very difficult games to play,” added Renard.

Argentina’s next game Messi and Co’s next game in World Cup 2022 is against Mexico on Saturday (Nov.26).