Saudi Arabia and Uruguay drew 1-1 in their Group H World Cup opener on Monday as an Abdulelah Al Amri goal for the Gulf nation was cancelled out by Maxi Araujo — both benefiting from poor goalkeeping.
Uruguay looked the most likely to score and were denied time after time by goalkeeper Mohammed Awais but Saudi shocked them with a goal against the run of play in the 41st minute when Fernando Muslera made a terrible error on a set-piece, parrying the ball into Al Amri’s path and he poked it beyond the veteran keeper.
Uruguay were showing much greater attacking intent for the majority of the second period and it was no surprise when, after first being guilty of an error when a save landed perfectly in Araujo’s direction to fire home.
The draw leaves Group H nicely balanced after the opening round of fixtures, which also concluded Monday after Spain were held to a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde, meaning all four teams start with one point each.