Uruguay held to 1-1 draw by Saudi Arabia in World Cup opener

MIAMI: Saudi Arabia and Uruguay played out a 1-1 draw in their 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 made a costly error on a set-piece, parrying 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 also made an error when a save fell nicely for Araujo to fire home.

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.