In the Spain group

Uruguay narrowly avoids a complete disaster

Uruguay scored late.(Bild: AFP/PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA)

Uruguay narrowly avoided a complete disaster to start the World Cup. The South Americans fought back to a 1-1 draw (0-1) against Saudi Arabia in Group H on Monday in Miami. 

Trailing 0-1 at halftime after a goal by Abdulelah Al-Amri (41'), Uruguay launched an all-out attack in the second half, which Maxi Araujo rewarded with the equalizer in the 80th minute. In the closing minutes, goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais saved Saudi Arabia from defeat on several occasions.

Just a few hours after Cape Verde’s 0-0 draw with Spain, the Saudis—who had kicked off the World Cup four years ago with a sensational 2-1 win over eventual world champions Argentina—also secured a surprising point. Uruguay controlled the game but couldn’t find a way to break down their deep-lying opponents in the first half. Only a shot by Maxi Araujo straight at the goal (5th minute) posed any real threat. After an uneventful first half-hour, Saudi Arabia found their way into the game thanks to set pieces.

Fernando Muslera, who turned 40 on Tuesday, deflected a shot by Al-Amri over the crossbar with a strong reaction (38th minute). In a second duel with the center back three minutes later, Uruguay’s goalkeeper came up short. Muslera could only briefly parry a header from Mohamed Kanno; Al-Amri reacted quickest and converted the rebound.

(Bild: AP/Marta Lavandier)

Equalizer by Araujo
Uruguay’s head coach Marcelo Bielsa responded at halftime with two substitutions and also took star striker Darwin Nunez off the field after just five touches. A header by Vinas just seconds after the restart, which Al-Owais saved, kicked off a flurry of attacks by the South Americans. Another header by Vinas (50th) went just wide, and a shot by Manuel Ugarte (60th) hit the post. In the 80th minute, however, Uruguay celebrated a well-deserved equalizer when Araujo was on hand to follow up after a blocked header by Vinas.

Saudi Arabia barely crossed the halfway line in the second half, but could celebrate a point because, although Uruguay applied enormous pressure in the closing minutes, they could not beat Al-Owais.

Following Herve Renard’s departure in April, his successor, Georgios Donis, has been in the job for less than two months. For this reason, too, a surprise similar to the one delivered by captain Salem El-Dawsari and his teammates in 2022—when they defeated eventual World Cup champions Argentina 2-1 in their opening match—is not really to be expected. The two teams also faced off at the World Cup in 2018, with Uruguay narrowly prevailing 1-0 in Russia thanks to a goal by Suárez. Uruguay’s defensive leader Ronald Araujo is questionable due to muscle issues.

Final score:
Saudi Arabia – Uruguay 1–1 (1–0)
Miami, 62,764, Referee Mariani (ITA)
Goals: 1-0 (41') Al-Amari, 1-1 (80') M. Araujo

Saudi Arabia: Al-Owais – Abdulhamid (92. Lajami), Al-Amri, Al-Tambakti, Al-Harbi (92. Al-Hamddan) - Al-Shamat (81. Bu Washl), Kanno, Al-Khaibari, S. Al-Dawsari – Al-Brikan (92. Al-Hajji), Al-Juwayr (63. N. Al-Dawsari)
Uruguay: Muslera – Varela, Cáceres, Olivera, Vina (46. Sanabria) – Ugarte (72. De la Cruz), Bentancur, Valverde, M. Araujo (81. Rodríguez) – Vinas (90. Aguirre), Nunez (46. Canobbio)