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

MIAMI (Reuters): 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.