Saudi Arabia has declared a national holiday to celebrate its national team’s stunning 2-1 victory over Argentina in the World Cup in Qatar.
The victory is being hailed by commentators as one of the greatest upsets in the tournament’s history, and the kingdom is taking the victory to heart, Bloomberg reported. On the suggestion of his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, King Salman declared Wednesday a national holiday in Saudi Arabia, giving all students and employees the day off, Alarabiya News reported.
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The Saudi stock exchange will also be closed for the day, set to reopen on Thursday.
Fans made headlines with their over-the-top celebrations following their triumph against one of the sport’s legends, Lionel Messi.
The Argentinians started off strong, with their first and final goal at the 10-minute mark, only for the Saudis to make a remarkable comeback in the second half, scoring two goals within five minutes of the other. It was the kingdom’s first victory in five attempts, NDTV reported.
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The victory puts Saudi Arabia on par with high-profile teams such as England and France at the top of the Group C table. The team is set to face Poland on Saturday.