A huge 48 places separated Saudi Arabia from World Cup heavyweights Argentina heading into the opening Group C clash in Qatar.
Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after just 10 minutes as Lionel Scaloni’s side looked to open the attacking floodgates early on.
However, two goals within four minutes just after half-time from Al-Shehri and Al-Dawsari delivered just the fourth World Cup win in their history.
Saudi’s victory has rocked the world of football, with that in mind, let’s look at some of the biggest World Cup shocks of all time.
Embed from Getty ImagesFrance 0-1 Senegal – World Cup 2002
Holders France went into the 2002 edition of the competition hunting for their second World Cup trophy having defeated Brazil in 1998.
They came up against Senegal in the tournament opener and boasted a star-studded line-up which included the likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera and David Trezeguet.
However, the tournament debutants shocked the world as midfielder Papa Boupa Diop tapped home from six yards out to win the first game.
France finished bottom of Group A and crashed out at the group stage whilst Senegal, who had current manager Aliou Cisse starting in midfield – reached the quarter-finals in their maiden tournament.
Scotland 3-2 Netherlands – World Cup 1978
Scotland’s bittersweet ending to their 1978 World Cup campaign will forever be etched into the history books.
Fielding the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Bruce Rioch, they managed to stun eventual finalists Netherlands.
Archie Gemmill’s stunner late on in the game brought joy and elation to the travelling Tartan Army in Argentina.
Ally MacLeod’s side crashed out in the first group stage, but their victory over the Dutch will remain one of the great World Cup classics.
Embed from Getty ImagesSpain 0-1 Switzerland – World Cup 2010
Eventual champions Spain took on Switzerland in their opening group match in South Africa, with a team almost entirely made up of Barcelona and Real Madrid players – but a Gelson Fernandes goal denied them the perfect tournament record.
Vincente del Bosque won his first World Cup trophy in 2010 and the veteran would go on to win his first European Championships just two years later.
They went on to win every other game at the tournament, but the slip-up against the Swiss proved to be a memorable moment in the competition’s history.
Embed from Getty ImagesSouth Korea 2-1 Italy – World Cup 2002
The 2002 edition of the competition provided yet another surprise, this time hosts South Korea produced a memorable victory over giants Italy in the last 16.
Ahn Jung-Hwan, who spent the previous season on loan in Italy with Perugia – was the hero as he bagged a golden goal late in extra time.
Even an Azzuri side littered with legends such as Gianluigi Buffon and Paolo Maldini couldn’t stop the hosts on their eventual run to the semi-finals.
