Game On: Sports News, Highlights & Commentary
- Saudi Arabia took a half-time lead after a poacher finish by Abdulelah Al-Amri.
- Uruguay upped the tempo in the second half, hit the post, and forced several saves from Mohammed Al-Owais.
- Marcelo Bielsa's 4-3-3 high-press defined Uruguay's direct attacking approach despite recent inconsistent form.
- FIFA cleared VAR official Shaun Evans after investigating an alleged hand gesture; no disciplinary breach found.
Key events
GOAL! Saudi Arabia 1-1 Uruguay (M Araujo 80)
I told you a goal was coming.
77 min Uruguay have attacked constantly in the second half, yet there has never quite been a moment when an equaliser has looked inevitable.
75 min “There was a shot of Bielsa on the touchline then where he looked quite like my dad, who for all his many, many fine qualities wasn’t a big football fan (he kept across the Motherwell scores though, bless him),” writes James Humphries. “This made me think first of what my dad would have had to say about this game and then how pleased he would have been on principle about the Cape Verde result.
“Now, on the one hand it probably doesn’t say great things about a game when the viewer’s attention turns instead to mortality and loss, but on the other hand it’s about the first emotional response this mince has got out of me so far. Swings and roundabouts.”
Haha. My dad would have fallen asleep in the chair after about 20 minutes and would be achieving peak REM snoring about now.
72 min The match is back under way. A corner from Valverde is heading into the side netting of his own goal by Al-Buraikan.
69 min After a wicked cross from Valverde just evades three Uruguay players, the referee signals for another drinks break.
67 min Free-kick to Uruguay near the byline on the left. Valverde whacks it into the six-yard box and Al-Owais, who is having a fine game, dives to push it clear.
65 min The second half been like a training game: Uruguay attack v Saudi Arabia defence.
63 min: Saudi Arabia substitution Nasser Al-Dawsari replaces Musab Al-Juwayr.
60 min: Ugarte hits the post!
Ugarte stretches to control a pass 25 yards from goal, moves away from the nearest defender and forces a low shot through the crowd that hits the far post.
In fact, replays show that the keeper Al-Owais got a slight but probably vital touch as he dived low to his right.
59 min Another cross from Varela is headed well wide by Canobbio, who was lurking 12 yards out ahead of the near post.
56 min The substitute Canobbio yelps in pain when he’s caught on the thigh by the studs of Al-Harbi. It was a glancing blow when Al-Harbi slipped and tried to retrieve the situation, but the referee didn’t see it and allowed play to continue.
53 min Varela wins another corner for Uruguay, who are making all the running. Araujo’s inswinger leads to a downward header that is kicked away by Tambakti (I think) in the six-yard box.
50 min Maxi Araujo’s inswinging corner from the right is headed just wide by Vinas. It was a pretty good downward header and Al-Owais wouldn’t have saved it had it been in the corner.
48 min Uruguay have made a decent start to the second half. Fede Valverde, who was anonymous on the right in the first half, has moved into a central position.
46 min Uruguay almost equalise after 48 seconds of the second half. Varela crosses from the right, Vinas stoops very low to guide a header across goal and Al-Owais springs to his right to push it away. That was a fine effort from Vinas.
46 min Uruguay have made a half-time substitution: Juan Sanabria and Agustin Canobbo are on for Darawin Nunez and Matias Vina.
“I’m 100% with you on taking a positive attitude towards this World Cup,” says Gary Naylor. “The players and fans of traditionally less strong tems (especially those of African nations, so long held at arm’s length by Fifa) deserve to be at a global event and they’ve fully justified the expansion to 48 teams already.
“On a world led by miserable misanthropes, what a delight it is to see the reaction of the peoples of Curaçao to their famous goal and those of Cape Verde to their astonishing result. I’m sure there’s plenty more to come before these wondrous bubbles burst. At least, in this unexpected week, they’ve floated over an oft-sinking planet.”
Did I say that about taking a positive attitude or have you mixed me up with Gianni Infantino? That’s right, all members of the bald community look the same.
Matt Hughes
Fifa’s disciplinary committee has cleared the World Cup video assistant referee Shaun Evans after he was accused of making a hand gesture associated with white supremacists.
An investigation found no evidence that the Australian had breached Fifa’s ethics code and he issued a statement on Monday night claiming he had been unaware of making the controversial hand sign.
In a pre-recorded video showing the team of VAR officials working on Germany’s 7-1 win against Curaçao on Sunday, Evans was shown making an “OK” symbol by curling his thumb and forefinger in front of his right leg, a gesture which in 2019 was designated a hate symbol by the New York‑based Anti-Defamation League.
Evans was accused of making a racist symbol by observers online, and the anti-discrimination group Fare called for him to be removed from the World Cup. Evans kept his counsel until being cleared by Fifa.
“Fifa’s independent disciplinary committee can confirm that, after looking into the matter involving support video assistant referee Shaun Evans, it has found no evidence of breaches of the Fifa disciplinary code,” its statement read. “The disciplinary committee has also taken note of Mr Evans’ statement.”
Half time: Saudi Arabia 1-0 Uruguay
A poacher’s goal from Abdulelah Amri has given Saudi Arabia a half-time lead against a tepid Uruguay AND IF I SEE THAT EFFING WALKERS ADVERT WITH BECKHAM AND STEVE CARELL ONE MORE TIME I SWEAR I’LL DO TIME!. Not much else to say really: the punishing heat in Miami made for a sluggish half in which both teams had only spell of sustained pressure. Saudi Arabia made theirs count.
45+2 min Four minutes of added time.
45+1 min Araujo, Uruguay’s most dangerous attacker, runs onto a long, clipped through pass and draws a good save from the outrushing Al-Owais. The flag goes up seconds later, though replays suggest it was pretty tight. Somebody wake Gary Neville, etc.
45 min Maxi Araujo curls the resulting free-kick to the far post. Vinas wins it in the air and plants a header back across goal that is saved comfortably, if acrobatically, by Al-Owais.
44 min Al-Amri is booked for kneeing Maxi Araujo in the head. That makes it sound worse than it was – the ball bounced up and Al-Amri was trying to win it. But a yellow card is probably right.
43 min Want to know more about the goalscorer? Bet you do.
The goal came from another corner on the right. Al-Juwayr swung it towards the penalty spot, Tambakti nailed a downward header that Muslera could only spoon out in front of goal, and Al-Amri gobbled up the rebound like a natural born centre-forward.
GOAL! Saudi Arabia 1-0 Uruguay (Al-Amri 41)
Abdulelah Al-Amri pokes Saudi Arabia into the lead!
38 min: Fabulous save by Muslera!
A corner from the right bounces through to Al-Amri, 15 yards from goal at the far post. He takes a touch and sidefoots a shot that is pawed over with his left hand by the diving Muslera. That’s an excellent reaction save.
The resulting corner almost leads to another chance, with the ball bouncing across the six-yard box before Uruguay clear.
37 min Free-kick to Saudi Arabia 30 yards from goal. Al-Juwayr charges up as if to shoot, then teases a chip into the area that is punched away under pressure by Muslera.
35 min “I’m pretty sure Giorgios Donis is the first/second Greek manager to lead a foreign nation at a World Cup finals,” writes Chris Paraskevas. “Ange Postecoglou was born in Greece but raised / lived Down Under before taking the Socceroos to Brazil 2014, so it depends on stats nerd interpretation / isolation / loneliness etc.*
“Alketas Panagoulias led the Greek national team to their first (infamous) World Cup in 1994, and had previously managed the US national team in a legendary career.”
34 min This is a lot better from Uruguay, who have pinned Saudi Arabia in their own half for the first time in the game.
30 min: Good save by Al-Owais
Uruguay have upped the tempo since Marcelo Bielsa put the fear of god into them at the hydration break. An insouciant lofted cross from the right is headed back across goal by Maxi Araujo. The ball bounces up towards Vinas, who throws himself into a diving header that is pushed away dramatically by Al-Owais. The header was central but he had to change direction so that was a pretty good save.
28 min “We were due one, I suppose,” says James Humphries. “But my word, this is pish.”
26 min The football resumes. Pure and naive soul that I am, I hadn’t realised there’s a reason why all the drinks breaks at this World Cup last three minutes.
23 min I’ve never looked forward to a hydration break so much in all my life. That was such an uneventful first quarter of the game, an accidental homage to the Disgrace of Gijon in 1982.
22 min “My goodness, that Miami song, if it can be called such, is awful!” writes Duncan McQueen. This would have been a far better choice. Keep up the good work with the MBM though (music choice notwithstanding)
That’s one of my favourite songs of the year! But it doesn’t matter, because there’s only one winner.
20 min Uruguay enquire for a penalty when a snapshot from Caceres, upfield for a free-kick, hits the hand of Tambakti.
Tambatki’s arm was by his side so there’s nothing to see here.
18 min Al-Dawsari intercepts a chipped pass from the keeper Muslera, exchanges passes with Al-Juwayr and tries his luck from 25 yards. Well wide but it was worth a try.
17 min Araujo’s shot aside, it’s been one big stalemate so far. I’m sure it will liven up, but for now the only thing to say is that Uruguay’s home kit might be their best since Italia 90.
13 min Lots of possession for Saudi Arabia in the last few minutes, most of it in their own half.
12 min “With Fede Valverde playing for Uruguay, there’ll be something worth watching in this one,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “He’ll probably either score an outrageous first-half hat-trick or kick Bielsa’s bucket from under him as he gets subbed early. Hopefully, Uruguay will progress to a knockout meeting with France, where Real Madrid ‘teammates’ Valverde and Tchouaméni can really express how they feel about each other.”
11 min Uruguay are picking their moments to press. Not even Marcelo Bielsea would expect his players to stay in top gear in this oppressive heat.
9 min “Counterfactual history is the last refuge of the nerd,” boasts Kári Tulinius, “but I can’t help but wonder what a meeting between Saudi Arabia and Uruguay at the 1986 World Cup would’ve been like, when both were continental champions, which they would defend. It’s Saudi Arabia’s golden age of football, and though it’s not Uruguay’s, they had a serious team.
“The Green Falcons did well in the Afro-Asiatic Cup against Cameroon in 1985, so they’d probably have given the South Americans a proper game. Anyway, they didn’t meet until early this century, so we’ll never know. Anyway, yes, football nerdery is a lonely pursuit.”
I’d love to know whether Uruguay – who were one of the pre-tournament favourites in 1986 – set out to violate everything that moved or whether their approach just evolved that way. They were South American champions, as you say, although I’ve just scanned their results from 1983-86 and it looks like they’d lost their way before the World Cup started.
6 min Araujo’s outswinging corner from the left is headed down at the far post and collected by Al-Owais.
5 min Vinha’s sharp low ball from the left is collected on the edge of the area by Araujo, who spins and whacks a left-foot shot that is pushed away a little awkwardly by Al-Owais. He kept it out, that’s the main thing.
3 min A quiet start, nothing to see yet.
2 min The Saudi Arabia attack is led by Salem al-Dawsari, who scored the winner in their astounding win over Argentina four years ago.
1 min Saudi Arabia kick off from left to right as we watch. The match is only four minutes behind schedule, so you can all go chill, relax.
Today’s match is in M-I-A-M-I
“I’m hoping for a chaotic game,” writes Andrew Goudie, “with Núñez supplying most of the havoc. I’m also enjoying Duncan Ferguson’s punditry on ITV.”
Big Dunc is so likeable. His evolution from Throat Man to cuddly next-door neighbour makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
Day five at the World Cup
Saudi Arabia team guide
Where to start? Perhaps towards the end of April when Hervé Renard was fired as head coach and then replaced by Georgios Donis. The Greek winger, formerly of Blackburn, picked his squad without overseeing a game.
Renard was in charge from 2019 to 2023 and oversaw the famous win against Argentina at the Qatar World Cup, but broke football’s “never go back” rule in October 2024, succeeding his successor Roberto Mancini, who never looked like the right fit. The Frenchman’s second spell was underwhelming and without the tournament’s expansion the Green Falcons would not have made it, and only scraped through as it was.
“That’s football … Saudi Arabia have qualified for the World Cup seven times, including twice with me,” Renard said as he left. “And there’s only one coach who has led them through both the qualifiers and the World Cup; that’s me, in 2022. At least there will be that sense of pride.”
Uruguay team guide
By Luis Inzaurralde
Marcelo Bielsa has left his indelible mark on this Uruguay team. His 4-3-3 system is built for direct football, allowing his side to press their opponents high up the field and chase the ball at all times. There is no letup in attacking when Uruguay have possession.
It has been a rollercoaster ride in the three years that the former Leeds manager has been in charge, which have included a World Cup qualifying campaign (finishing fourth out of 10 in the Conmebol standings) and the 2024 Copa América (finishing third).
There was the extraordinary football played in the second half of 2023, when Argentina and Brazil were beaten, before Uruguay went on a dismal run of one win in 12 (drawing a blank nine times) between July 2024 and June 2025. A 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the US in November led to serious questions being asked of Bielsa. Faith was more or less restored in March when Uruguay drew 1-1 with England and 0-0 with Algeria.
Team news
Saudi Arabia (4-4-2) Al-Owais; Abdulhamid, Al-Amri, Altambakti, Al-Harbi; Abu Al-Shamat, Al-Juwayr, Al-Khaibari, Kanno; Al-Buraikan, Al-Dawsari.
Subs: Al-Aqidi, Al-Dawsari, Al-Ghannam, Al-Hamdan, Al-Johani, Al-Kassar, Al-Shehri, Boushal, Hejji, Kadesh, Lajami, Majrashi, Mandash, Thakri, Yahya.
Uruguay (4-2-3-1): Muslera; Varela, Cáceres, Olivera, Viña; Ugarte, Bentancur; M Araújo, Valverde, Viñas; Núñez.
Subs: Aguirre, Bueno, Canobbio, de la Cruz, Gimenez, Martinez, Mele, Pellistri, Piquerez, Rochet, Rodriguez, Sanabria, Zalazar.
Referee Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Saudi Arabia v Uruguay at the Miami Stadium. Saudi Arabia started the last World Cup with a stunning victory over Argentina. They’d love to do the same another South American giant tonight – not least because it would increase their chances of getting out of a World Cup group for only the second time. The first, as any football nerd worth their loneliness will know, came on their World Cup debut at USA 94.
Uruguay didn’t even qualify for that tournament. They also missed out in 1998 and 2006, but a memorable run to the semi-finals in 2010 reminded everyone of their pedigree – and their ability to attract or cause controversy.
They’ve been a fixture since then and, while it’s hard to see them adding a third triumph to sit alongside 1930 and 1950, they never leave a World Cup without making an impression. Last time around, they and Ghana managed to knock each other out of the competition.
Whatever Uruguay achieve this time round, it won’t be dull, not when they are coached by Marcelo Bielsa.
Kick off 6pm EDT/11pm BST/8am AEST
Matt Hughes
Uruguay’s preparations for their opening World Cup game against Saudi Arabia were severely disrupted after their flight from Mexico was hit by multiple delays.
Marcelo Bielsa’s squad had been due to fly from Cancún to Fort Lauderdale early on Sunday afternoon, but paperwork issues relating to the plane led to their initial flight being cancelled.
A second plane was then commissioned to take Uruguay to South Florida, but that flight was also delayed and they eventually arrived for the pre-match press conference at Miami Stadium several hours late.
An unusually taciturn Bielsa played down the impact of the delay on his players, who undertook most of their preparations at a two-week training camp in Montevideo before spending the last week in Mexico. “The flight caused no problems,” Bielsa said.
The Uruguay captain, José María Giménez, was more frank in describing the delays as “difficult”, while others at the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) were less diplomatic.
“We had some complications,” the Atlético Madrid defender said. “It was difficult, but we took advantage by resting at the hotel. And we just got here later.”
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