Saudi Arabia declares National Day After Shocking Victory Over Argentina

Saudi King Salman declared National Day after his football team scored an impressive victory over Argentina on Tuesday, according to state media.

The 86-year-old monarch “orders that tomorrow, Wednesday, be a holiday for all employees in the public and private sectors, as well as male and female students at all educational levels”, the Al-Ekhbariya channel said on Twitter.

The move comes in the middle of the Gulf States’ final exams and indicates that it will have to be postponed.

The Saudi Green Falcons take their biggest win in Worlds Cup thanks to Saleh Al-Shehri’s equalizer and a stunning Salem Al-Dawsari winner at Doha’s Lusail Stadium Shock after Lionel conceded his early penalty.

Celebrations erupted throughout the capital Riyadh after the final whistle blew, with fans forming impromptu dance circles and waving the sword-emblazoned national flag from the windows of speeding cars.

Al-Ekhbariya posted pictures of King Salman’s son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, celebrating after watching the game with a group that included energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

Turki al-Sheikh, an adviser at the Royal Court and head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced on Twitter that admission fees would be waived at major theme parks and entertainment centres in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Few could have predicted that Herve Renard’s Green Falcons, ranked 51st in the world, would topple the twice-world champions led by the feted Messi, who has seven Ballons d’Or to his name.

The team’s next match is on Saturday against Poland.