Maxi Araujo denies Saudi Arabia as Uruguay held in World Cup opener
By Press Association Sport Staff
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, 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.
Saudi Arabia forward Salem Al-Dawsari said in quotes reported on fifa.com: “It was a good start, and I believe we deserved to win.
“Step by step, we can qualify for the next round. We came here to win and go as far as possible, not just to take part.”
