Uruguay held by Saudi Arabia in World Cup opener in Miami

Uruguay’s late equalizer spared it defeat, but the 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia looked more like a warning than a rescue. In the first World Cup match ever played at Miami Stadium, Uruguay was forced to chase after a flat opening and only found relief through Maximiliano Araújo’s 80th-minute goal.

Saudi Arabia had already shown it could punish hesitation. Abdulelah Al Amri finished the move that put the Saudis ahead in the 41st minute after Uruguay’s defense failed to clear a rebound, giving the underdog a lead that held until the final stretch. Uruguay pushed hard after the break, but its best chances were repeatedly turned away by Mohammed Al-Owais, who kept the Saudis level with a series of sharp stops.

The Saudi goalkeeper was decisive in stoppage time, when he denied Nicolás de la Cruz and then Federico Valverde as Uruguay pressed for a winner. FIFA said Uruguay created clear openings in the closing minutes, yet could not convert the chance to claim all three points. That inability to finish chances left the Celeste with only one point from a match it was expected to control.

The result tightened the pressure on Uruguay almost immediately. Group H remained open after Cabo Verde’s earlier draw with Spain, a reminder that every favorite in the section now faces a smaller margin for error. For Uruguay, the draw did not just cost two points, it exposed how vulnerable a slow start can make a team that is expected to carry the weight of its World Cup history.

Saudi Arabia arrived with its own recent credential for unsettling stronger opponents, having stunned Argentina 2-1 in its opening match at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. This time, it again left a heavyweight scrambling, and Uruguay’s late response was enough only to preserve the point. In a group that has already started to tilt unpredictably, the draw felt less like an escape and more like the first test Uruguay failed to pass cleanly.