The Copa America champions were stunned by a team ranked 51st in the world (Picture: Getty)

Lionel Messi says Argentina have ‘no excuses’ after their shock World Cup defeat to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday but insists the team will pick themselves up and go all out to win their remaining matches.

The Copa America champions were one of the pre-tournament favourites and were in the middle of a 36-match unbeaten run but came unstuck in Qatar against a side ranked 51st in the world.

Messi had given Argentina the lead from the penalty spot in a first half they dominated – with three goals chalked off for offside – but quick-fire second-half strikes from Saleh Alshehri and Salem Aldawsari flipped the match on its head.

A stubborn and dogged rearguard performance saw Saudi Arabia cling on to secure a 2-1 win and one of the World Cup’s biggest ever upsets and Messi says Argentina now need to regroup and bounce back.

‘There are no excuses. We are going to be more united than ever,’ said Argentina’s talisman after the match.

‘This team is strong and we have shown it in the past. We did not expect to start in this way, but things happen for a reason. Now we have to win, it depends on us. I ask the fans to trust us. This group will not let them down.’

Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni struck a similar tone in his post-match press conference – with his side now likely needing to beat Mexico and Poland – and was at something of a loss to explain how his team came unstuck so spectacularly.

‘It’s difficult to understand because in four or five minutes they score two goals from their only shots on goal,’ said the Argentine coach at his post-match press conference.

Saudi Arabia pulled off one of the World Cup’s biggest upsets (Picture: Getty)

‘There’s no other choice but to pick ourselves up. We have to win our next two games, we don’t have to analyse any more than that. Today is a sad day, but we keep our head up and keep going.’

Asked if Saudi Arabia’s tactic of playing with a high line had surprised him, Scaloni continued: ‘We already knew how they played and in fact we were preparing the game in the week to face a high defensive line. The offsides were a few millimetres.

‘I think the first half was all us and those offsides could have been goals on another occasion. At half-time we said the game was strange and that a goal could change anything, and that’s what happened.

‘We will analyse the match much more calmly later. I have not spoken with the players yet because they are hurt and still thinking about the defeat. Now it’s about winning the next two games and that’s what we’ll try to do.’

Lautaro Martinez, who thought he had scored twice but was denied by marginal offsides both times, echoed his manager’s words, saying: ‘This hurts a lot. We had big hope of starting the World Cup with a win. We lost the game due to our mistakes, more than anything in the second half.

‘There are details that make the difference and we must correct mistakes. In the first half we should have scored more than one goal, but this is a World Cup and now we have two finals left.’

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