:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71661111/1244989273.0.jpg "Saudi Arabia World Cup history: Total World Cup matches won? Have they every advanced to knockout stage?")
The 2022 World Cup has its first major upset officially on the books. Saudi Arabia shocked Argentina 2-1 in their opener and is suddenly in prime position to advance out of Group C. There's still a lot of work to do, but a win over the group favorites means the Saudis could advance with a win over Poland or Mexico, or potentially a pair of ties.
This is the sixth time Saudi Arabia has qualified for the World Cup. In the country's first appearance back in 1994, they beat Morocco and then stunned Belgium 1-0 to advance to the knockout stage. They lost 3-1 to Sweden in the knockout stage. Saudi Arabia advanced to the World Cup in 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2018, but has only one win in the group stage across those four appearances.
The Saudis entered the 2002 World Cup as the Group C longshot with +2200 odds to win and +650 to advance to the knockout round. We'll update with their group odds once they update at DraftKings Sportsbook.