Argentina And Saudi Arabia Group One In 2022 World Cup Qatar: Recalling Their First Meeting On The Big Stage

Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta in action against Saudi Arabia in the King Fahd Cup (Photo: FIFA)

JAKARTA - Argentina and Saudi Arabia will face off in the opening match of the 2022 World Cup Qatar. The match in Group C evokes memories of the two teams meeting in the first FIFA Confederations Cup final. Back then, Argentina beat the hosts 3-1 for their maiden title in Riyadh.

For 20 years, the FIFA Confederations Cup brought together the continental champions once every four years and marked the countdown to the World Cup. However, the roots of the tournament go further back to the four-team knockout competition that Saudi Arabia hosted in 1992: the King Fahd Cup.

This inaugural edition features hosts Saudi Arabia and three other continental monarchs: Argentina, Ivory Coast and the United States.

Argentina, under the tutelage of Alfio Basile, had just won the 1991 Copa America and had the young Gabriel Batistuta in their ranks.

Argentina national team in the 1992 King Fahd Cup (Photo: FIFA)

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is the dominant force in Asian football, having won back-to-back AFC Asian Cups in 1984 and 1988. The King Fahd Cup was an opportunity for the Saudis to prepare for that year's Asian finals, which were scheduled to kick off nine days after the final. their home tournament.

Argentina's star-studded squad enjoyed a warm welcome upon their arrival in Riyadh. The 23-year-old Batistuta, who is starting his second season with Fiorentina, wasted no time in showing his scoring prowess at the King Fahd International Stadium.

'Batigol' scored his 11th and 12th international goals in the opening ten minutes of Argentina's first game against Ivory Coast, before Ricardo Altamirano and Beto Acosta each added a goal after the break to take La Albiceleste to the final.

Coached by Bora Milutinovic, the United States traveled to Saudi Arabia two years before they hosted the World Cup and faced difficulties against the hosts and 70,000 spectators. The US coach managed to press the champions in the first half but succumbed to the pressure in the second, when goals from Fahd Al-Harifi, Youssef Al-Thunayan and Khaled Massad put the Saudis into the final.

The decisive atmosphere at the King Fahd Stadium was no different from the World Cup. And although the green and white crowd dominated the stands, there was still cheers when Diego Simeone, wearing the legendary number 10 jersey made popular by Diego Maradona, set up Leo Rodriguez in the 18th minute for the opener from the edge of the box.

When Claudio Caniggia added a second six minutes later, Saudi Arabia feared the worst. Deftly controlling the ball inside the box after a precise pass from the right flank, Caniggia turned and fired a powerful shot past goalkeeper Saud Al-Otaibi from 12 yards. But the Saudis refused to collapse and valiantly fended off the flow of attacks launched by Basile's men.

The hosts' resistance was broken again in the 64th minute after Batistuta's shot hit the post at Simeone, whose close-range shot bounced from under the bar onto the goal line before actually finding its way into the net.

Despite being relatively unknown at the time, Saudi number seven Saeed Al-Owairan made a name for himself by reducing the goal deficit with a strike from 30 yards that goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea missed.

Although Saudi Arabia lost 1-3, the 1992 King Fahd Cup left a lasting legacy in the Kingdom, with The Green Falcons participating in the next three editions of the tournament, as hosts in 1995 and 1997, and as Asian champions in Mexico (1999) after a third continental title. them in the UAE 1996.