MIAMI, June 16 — Saudi Arabia and Uruguay played out a 1-1 draw in their Group H World Cup opener this morning after Abdulelah Al Amri's first-half strike for the Gulf nation was cancelled out by Maxi Araujo in a match in which both sides capitalised on 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 mistake from a set-piece, parrying the ball into the path of Al Amri, who poked it past the veteran goalkeeper.
Much of the second half was played in Saudi Arabia's half as Uruguay pressed for an equaliser, and their persistence paid off when goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais also erred, with his save falling kindly for Araujo to fire home.
The draw leaves Group H finely poised after the opening round of matches following Spain's draw with Cape Verde earlier on Monday, with all four teams level on one point.
