Is Saudi Arabia’s win against Argentina the biggest upset in World Cup history?

Saudi Arabia caused a huge shock by beating Argentina 2-1 in the opening match in Group C on Tuesday.

Argentina looked set for a routine victory when Lionel Messi converted an early penalty, and the South American side had three goals disallowed for offside before the break.

However, Saudi Arabia came from a different side after the break, scoring twice in five minutes through Saleh Alshehri and Salem Aldawsari.

The underdogs managed to hang on to a famous victory, but is this the biggest shock in World Cup history?

Sportsmail has compiled a list of the 10 biggest shocks in the tournament.

10. Switzerland 1-0 Spain (2010)

Spain went on to win the World Cup in 2010 as their golden generation dominated the international scene, but they made the worst possible start to the tournament.

Gelson Fernandes’ striking goal in the second half was enough to condemn Spain to defeat on the first day, but they managed to come back a month later and triumph in the final against the Netherlands.

9. Bulgaria 2-1 Germany (1994)

Bulgaria had done well to reach the quarter-finals in 1994, but it seemed unlikely that they would make it much further when they faced defending champions Germany.

Lothar Matthaus put Germany ahead from the penalty spot three minutes after the break, but Bulgaria staged a stunning comeback thanks to goals from Hristo Stoichkov and Yordan Letchkov to progress to the semi-finals.

8. Northern Ireland 1-0 Spain (1982)

Spain were barely world champions at this point, but they were still fully expected to pass Northern Ireland.

Instead, it was Northern Ireland that came out on top and Gerry Armstrong scored the winning goal. Their win was all the more remarkable given that they played down to 10 men for the last half hour after Mal Donaghy was sent off.

7. Republic of Ireland 1-0 Italy (1994)

Playing in the sweltering heat against a highly coveted Italian side, not many gave the Republic of Ireland a chance at a result.

However, they defied the odds, scoring through Ray Houghton in the 12th minute and then managing to hold on for the win. Italy still managed to make it to the final before losing to Brazil on penalties.

6. South Korea 2-1 Italy (2002)

Co-hosts South Korea played Italy in the round of 16 and it looked like their fairytale would end when Christian Vieri put the Azzurri ahead.

South Korea forced extra time as Seol Ki-hyeon equalized two minutes from time, and after Francesco Totti was sent off, the underdogs found a Golden Goal winner through Jung-Hwan Ahn in the 117th minute.

5. North Korea 1-0 Italy (1966)

It is another shake-up involving Italy. This time it happened in England during the 1966 World Cup.

Pak Doo-ik scored the winner in the 42nd minute for the tournament’s debutants, who reached the quarter-finals before exiting the competition.

4. USA 1-0 England (1950)

Playing against a team mostly made up of part-timers, England were expected to beat the USA comfortably.

It didn’t work out that way as Joe Gaetjens scored the winning goal to stun a team that included England greats Stan Mortensen and Tom Finney and future World Cup winning manager Alf Ramsey.

3. Cameroon 1-0 Argentina (1990)

Argentina entered the 1990 tournament as defending champions after Diego Maradona inspired them to victory four years earlier, but they came loose in their opening game against Cameroon.

Cameroon had two players sent off, with Andre Kana-Biyik and Benjamin Massing both getting their marching orders, but their physical approach worked as François Omam-Biyik’s goal decided the match.

2. Saudi Arabia 2-1 Argentina (2022)

Just off the top spot is Saudi Arabia’s victory over Argentina on Tuesday.

The South American team had not lost any of their previous 36 games leading up to the game, but Messi and co. had no answer to Saudi Arabia’s stunning start in the second half and they now face an uphill task to qualify for Group C.

1. Senegal 1-0 France (2002)

This has to be top notch, if only because of how brilliant France was at the time. Les Bleus had won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 and looked well positioned to defend their crown heading into the tournament.

What happened next was hard to believe as Senegal, who had never played at the tournament before, registered the mother of all misfortunes thanks to Papa Bouba Diop’s first half.