A furious Lionel Messi said his Argentina team had "no excuses" after their remarkable World Cup defeat to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi, ranked 51st in the world, staged one of football's greatest ever upsets to end the South Americans' unbeaten 36-game run. Saleh Al Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari's quickfire double and a brilliant display from goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais secured the famous 2-1 win.

Messi, who is an ambassador for the controversial Middle East Nation, was out of sorts and only able to score from the penalty spot.

“It is a very hard blow for everyone,” he said afterwards. “We did not expect to start this way. Things happen for a reason. We have to prepare for what is coming, we have to win, and it depends on us. There are no excuses."

Read the full article here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-cup/2022/11/22/argentina-crash-shock-world-cup-defeat-against-saudi-arabia/

Subscribe to The Telegraph with our special offer: just £1 for 3 months. Start your free trial now:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/customer/subscribe/digitalsub/3for1/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_pvid_conversion-subscription_editorial-iniative_03-22_EGW-13_organic_youtube

Get the latest headlines: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.