Maxi Araujo scored a late equaliser to help Uruguay walk away with a point against Saudi Arabia. | Photo Credit: AP

Saudi Arabia and Uruguay played ​out a 1-1 draw in its Group H World Cup ​opener on Monday after ⁠Abdulelah Al Amri’s opener for the Gulf nation was cancelled out ‌by Maxi Araujo in a game where both sides ‌profited 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 veteran keeper.

The ⁠majority of the second period was played in Saudi Arabia’s ‌half as Uruguay frantically searched for an equaliser and their persistence paid off when goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais’ save fell nicely for Araujo to ​fire home.

RELATED | Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay Group G match highlights

The draw leaves Group H finely poised after ⁠the first round of games ⁠following Spain’s draw with Cape Verde earlier on Monday, ‌with all four teams on one point each.

- Inputs 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 Núñez (5.7)

Subs: 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 Jun 16, 2026