Maxi Araujo rescued a point for Uruguay to deny Saudi Arabia another famous World Cup win as the sides drew 1-1 in Miami.
The Saudis, who shocked eventual winners Argentina in their opener at the last World Cup 2026, went ahead through Abdulelah Al-Amri in the first half but came under sustained pressure late on and failed to hold out against the two-time winners.
Federico Vinas saw his header saved by Mohammed Al-Owais after 30 minutes but that was the highlight of a tepid first-half display from Uruguay.
The South Americans had already had one warning from a set-piece in the 38th minute when Al-Amri connected with a corner and forced Fernando Muslera into a fine save.
Three minutes later, centre-back Al-Amri opened the scoring as he reacted quickest to turn in the rebound after Muslera had kept out Mohamed Kanno’s header.
Vinas forced another save out of Al-Owais before the break and Uruguay dominated possession after the interval, with Manuel Ugarte hitting the post with a low effort from distance after an hour.
The pressure finally told with 10 minutes remaining as Araujo steered home an equaliser from close range after Vinas’ header had been saved by Al-Owais.
Substitute Brian Rodriguez curled an effort wide from the edge of the box as Uruguay sought a winner and Al-Owais made excellent saves from Nicolas de la Cruz and Federico Valverde in stoppage time.
The draw means that teams from the AFC (Asia’s football confederation) remain unbeaten in their first five matches as this World Cup with each of the games being played against European or South American opposition.
The result is another surprising one in Group H as Cape Verde managed to secure a point against Spain after holding La Roja to a goalless draw in the other fixture. What that means is that all the team have one point but Uruguay sit top of the table with Saudi Arabia second, Cape Verde third and Spain, the favourites to win the whole tournament, are fourth.
