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Saudi Arabian fans defeat Argentina
Photo: Robert Michael / dpa
Saudi Arabia euphorically celebrated the sensational 2-1 victory against Argentina at the start of the 2022 World Cup.
King Salman ordered a public holiday for Wednesday, according to the state agency SPA.
This applies to all employees in the public sector and in the private sector as well as to all students in the Islamic kingdom.
The Saudi Arabian success is one of the biggest sensations such as the victories of Algeria against Germany in 1982, North Korea against Italy in 1966 and the United States against England in 1950.
Saudi media hailed a "historic victory" and a "heroic epic" on Tuesday.
Goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais, who secured the victory against the big favorite with his saves, was particularly celebrated.
"A thousand, thousand congratulations, you heroes," Saudi sports minister Abdalasis bin Turki al-Faisal wrote on Twitter.
The head of the Saudi entertainment authority, influential sports official Turki al-Sheikh, opened entry to three amusement parks to celebrate the victory.
Photos from the Saudi broadcaster El-Ekhbaria showed how the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman celebrated the success in front of the television.
"All of Saudi Arabia is celebrating the victory of the Greens over Argentina," headlined the broadcaster and interviewed enthusiastic fans.
The Saudi success also sparked joy in other Arab countries.
The commentator from the Qatar-based sports broadcaster Bein Sports was excitedly anticipating the end of the 14-minute stoppage time.
"Where's the final whistle?" he begged Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčićan.
When this sounded, he yelled a long drawn-out »Allaaaaaahhhhhhhh« into the microphone.
He had already celebrated the Saudis' 2-1 lead with similar euphoria.
"This is absolutely insane, literally," he exclaimed.
Political capital from the success
At the same time, supporters of the Saudi royal family tried to exploit the success politically.
They pointed out that Crown Prince Mohammed did not apply pressure when welcoming the team ahead of the World Cup, paving the way for success.
The heir to the throne, son of King Salman, is actually the strong man in Saudi Arabia.
Internationally, he is heavily criticized for human rights violations.
US intelligence agencies have accused him of being responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by an assassin squad from Riyadh.
mfu/dpa