Saudi Arabi and Uruguay finished their World Cup opener in a 1-1 draw. With Saudi Arabia surviving the late Uruguayan onslaught.
Maxi Araújo delivers late heroics in a 1-1 draw between Saudi Arabia and Uruguay pic.twitter.com/IzTeMVUCy1
TOP NEWS
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 16, 2026
Uruguay made their presence on the field known immediately.
Maxi Araújo would launch the first shot of the match from just outside the box.
Saudi Arabian goalkeeper, Mohammed Al-Owais managed to redirect the strike out of bounds for a Uruguay corner.
Federico Viñas would go up to meet the corner pass, laying a header onto net.
But Al-Qwais corralled the attempt.
Much of the match following the early pressure by Uruguay saw both sides jockeying for possession.
In the 18′, Salem Al-Dawsari would take Saudi Arabia’s first attempt on net of the day, missing wide.
In the 30′ Uruguay found themselves on the doorstep with a scoring opportunity.
A lofted pass into the box was cleared back towards center.
Viñas was there to attempt a diving header, but Al-Owais made a spectacular save.
A set piece about 20 yards outside the box put Saudi Arabia in a strong scoring position.
Musab Al-Juwayr floated the set piece onto net, forcing Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera to come off his line a knock the shot out for a corner.
Uruguay was not out of the woods yet, however.
The corner would bounce and find Abdulelah Al-Amri in the box.
After taking a touch to collect the ball, Al-Amri would take a strike, forcing yet another save from Muslera.
The ball would be redirected out of play for another Saudi corner.
The next corner was taken short allowing Salem Al-Dawsari to curl in a pass to the far post.
A couple headers in the box gave Feras Al-Brikan a prime opportunity to score, but he was just out of range.
A few moments later, Saudi Arabia would take their third corner in the span of three minutes.
The cross into the box was met at the top by Mohamed Kanno, who headed the pass onto net.
Muslera made yet another save but could not corral the strike.
Al-Amir quickly cleaned up the rebound, slotting the shot in and giving the Saudis a 1-0 advantage in the 41′.
In the 45′ Uruguay would get a set piece of their own outside the box.
Viñas would strike the looping pass with another header, forcing Al-Owais to make another save.
A few more offensive pushes by Uruguay would end before any damage could be done.
And with the cry of the half time whistle, Saudi Arabia took their one goal lead into the locker room.
Coming out of halftime Uruguay’s Viñas wasted no time, just 50 seconds in, he headed another ball onto net.
Al-Owais made yet another save to maintain Saudi Arabia’s advantage.
Uruguay remained on the offensive, taking four shots in the first 10 minutes of the half.
In the 60′, Manuel Ugarte took a strike from outside the box that ricocheted off the left post.
Al-Owais would stay down for a few moments following his dive on Ugarte’s strike.
But Al-Owais would get back on his feet following a brief respite.
In the 66′ Uruguay would receive a free kick a few yards in front of the corner flag.
Federico Valverde would take the set piece, launching a curling shot onto goal.
But Al-Owais once again knocked it clear to keep Saudi Arabia on top.
However, Uruguay would finally breakthrough in the 80th minute.
A Viñas header would be knocked away by Al-Owais once again, but only as far as Araújo.
Araújo would send a first-time strike onto net, and this time, Al-Owais could not keep it out.
The Uruguayan pressure didn’t stop, however.
Following Araújo’s goal, Uruguay took 11 more shots, some of which required Al-Qwais to continue his incredible job in net.
And while Uruguay did their best to find a game winner late in the match, the full-time whistle signified the 1-1 draw and the third draw of the day.
Al-Owais did his best to keep Saudi Arabia in this match.
The goalkeeper faced 10 shots on net and kept all but one out.
With result of this match finishing 1-1, Group H joins Group B in having all four of its memebrs even on points.
Uruguay and Saudi Arabia will both play their next matches on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia will match up next against Spain at noon.
As for, Uruguay they’ll take on Cabo Verde at 6 p.m.
Follow Adrian Murillo Silva on Instagram @adrianms_official
