2022 FIFA World Cup: Lionel Messi made speech to Argentina teammates and urged them to stay calm after calamitous Saudi Arabia defeat

Argentina captain Lionel Messi reportedly gathered his teammates after their 2-1 loss against Saudi Arabia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup to deliver a motivational speech. La Albiceleste made the worst possible start to the Qatar World Cup with a shock defeat against Saudi Arabia.

The South American side took the lead in the 10th minute courtesy of a Lionel Messi penalty but failed to double their lead going into the half-time break. The minnow Asian side hit back twice in the second half in the space of 10 minutes to take a shock 2-1 lead. Argentina failed to recover the deficit as a spirited Saudi Arabia held on for a shock win.

Placed in Group C along with Saudi Arabia, Poland, and Mexico, Argentina has a tough challenge on their hands now. Poland and Mexico clashed for a 0-0 draw in the other Group C encounter.

Messi requested his Argentina teammates to meet one other and sent out a message of unity, asking them to stay calm despite the result (ht @RoyNemer).

The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward's reported message is similar in tone to what he said while addressing the media after the defeat to Saudi Arabia.

He had said:

"There are no excuses. We have to be more united than ever. This group is strong and has shown it. It's a situation we haven't gone through in a long time. Now we have to show that this is a real group."

La Albiceleste last failed to qualify from the group stages of the FIFA World Cup back in the 2002 edition. They were on a 36-match unbeaten run before their defeat against Saudi Arabia.

Argentina have two more games in hand to ensure qualification for the knockouts. Their next match is against Mexico on November 26, followed by the game against Poland on November 30.

Messi had declared that it would be his last hurrah at the quadrennial tournament prior to leaving for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

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Saudi Arabia's shock win against Argentina has boosted their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages at the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Saudi Arabia's famous win against Argentina was just their fourth World Cup victory in the nation's history.

They had previously beaten Egypt 2-1 in the group stage of the 2018 edition but failed to qualify for the knockouts. Their last appearance in the knockout rounds came 28 years ago at the 1994 USA World Cup.

The Asian side had beaten teams like Belgium and Morocco in that edition of the tournament. They lost their Round of 16 game 3-1 against Sweden back then.

Having won their first match in this edition, another win against either Mexico or Poland will virtually guarantee them a place in the last 16.