Saudi Arabia and Uruguay played out a 1-1 draw in their Group H World Cup opener on Monday after Abdulelah Al Amri’s opener for the Gulf state was canceled out by Maxi Araujo in a match where both sides benefited from goalkeeping errors.
The first half was dominated by Uruguay, but Saudi Arabia took the lead against the run of play in the 41st minute when Fernando Muslera parried the ball into the path of Al Amri, who poked the ball past the experienced keeper.
Most of the second period was played in Saudi Arabia’s half as Uruguay frantically searched for an equalizer and their persistence paid off when goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais’ save fell nicely for Araujo to fire home.
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The draw leaves Group H well-balanced after the first round, following Spain’s draw against Cape Verde earlier on Monday, with all four teams on one point each.
– Input from Reuters
Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay player ratings:
Saudi Arabia:
Abdulelah Al-Amri (7.9), Mohammed Al-Owais (7.7), Saud Abdulhamid (6.9), Hassan Altambakti (6.8), Moteb Al-Harbi (6.7), Mohamed Kanno (6.5), Salem Aldawsari (6.5), Abdullah Al-Khaibari (6.5), Musab Al-Juwayr (6.2), Firas Al-Buraikan (6.2), Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat (6.0)
Subs: Nasser Al-Dawsari (6.2), Nawaf Boushal (6.0), Alaa Hejji (6.0), Ali Lajami (6.0), Abdullah Al-Hamdan (5.9)
Uruguay:
Maximiliano Araújo (8.3), Federico Valverde (7.3), Rodrigo Bentancur (7.3), Mathías Olivera (7.1), Manuel Ugarte (7.0), Sebastián Cáceres (6.7), Guillermo Varela (6.5), Federico Viñas (6.4), Fernando Muslera (6.3), Matías Viña (6.0), Darwin Nunez (5.7)
subtitles: Juan Manuel Sanabria (6.4), Nicolás de la Cruz (6.2), Brian Rodríguez (6.1), Agustín Canobbio (6.1), Rodrigo Aguirre (6.0)
Published on June 16, 2026
