Saudi ArabiavsUruguay

Result

Maxi Araújo rescued a point for Uruguay, sweeping in a 79th-minute rebound after Mohammed Al-Owais could only parry Federico Viñas's header. The Saudi keeper had earlier been beaten by his own defender's intervention — Abdulelah Al-Amri pounced on a loose ball from a Mohamed Kanno header to put the Green Falcons ahead on 41 minutes. Bielsa's side dominated the ball (67%) and piled up 27 shots, but a disciplined Saudi block and Al-Owais's late saves earned the debutant-deniers their draw.

Saudi Arabia 4-4-24-4-2 Uruguay

Saudi Arabia

Uruguay

Abdulelah Al-Amri41'

Maxi Araújo79'

33%Possession67%

7Shots27

3On target10

9Saves2

4Corners14

236Passes completed540

73%Pass accuracy88%

11Tackles3

10Touches in box41

At this Stage

Group H's opening round produced two draws, four teams on a point apiece, and a table sorted by the thinnest measure available: having scored at all. That lifts Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, 1-1 in Miami, above Cabo Verde and Spain, goalless in Atlanta. Uruguay's night was one long shrug of frustration — 67% of the ball, 27 shots, and only Maxi Araújo's 79th-minute rebound to show for it after Al-Amri had put the Green Falcons ahead and Al-Owais's late saves kept the rest out. Saudi Arabia, whose coach was appointed barely two months before the finals, will bank the point happily; Uruguay, trying to outrun a second straight group-stage exit after Qatar, restart the arithmetic uneasily. One round in, Group H has no leader — just four teams glancing sideways at each other.

Group H

Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
Saudi Arabia	1	0	1	0	+0	1
Uruguay	1	0	1	0	+0	1
Cabo Verde	1	0	1	0	+0	1
Spain	1	0	1	0	+0	1

Top two (above the accent line) advance to the round of 32; the third-placed team is in the race for one of the eight best-third spots.

What we know now

What I said beforehand

The preview, frozen at kickoff. Clearly dated, never rewritten — that's the deal that makes the predictions worth anything.

Uruguay, but not without a fright. Marcelo Bielsa's side carry the clear talent edge — Valverde driving the midfield, Núñez leading the line — and are desperate to avoid a second straight group-stage exit after Qatar. The complication is fitness: Giménez, Araújo and de Arrascaeta are all carrying knocks, and a patched-up back line against a disciplined Saudi block could keep this tight. Saudi Arabia, newly under Georgios Donis and built around captain Salem Al-Dawsari, will sit deep and counter. La Celeste's quality tells in the end, 2-0, but a nervy opening hour is likely.

Both cases written 2026-06-14, before kickoff — they freeze into the record exactly as written, however the match goes. The percentages are mine, quoted to a decimal because false precision is funnier — the unclaimed 24% belongs to the draw.