Uruguay held by Saudi Arabia as Group H remains level

MIAMI: Uruguay had most of the ball and created the better chances but were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia in hot and humid conditions on Monday, leaving World Cup Group H completely level after the opening round of matches.

The result came after Spain, the European champions, were surprisingly held to a 0-0 draw by tournament debutants Cape Verde earlier in the day. That means all four teams in the group have one point after their first matches.

Saudi Arabia went in front late in the first half through defender Abdulelah al-Amri. The goal came four minutes before the interval when he reacted quickest inside the area to turn the ball in from close range after Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera spilled a header from a corner.

Before scoring, Al-Amri had already tested Muslera with a powerful effort shortly before half-time, forcing the Uruguay keeper to push the ball away. Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais was also called into action in the first half, including one stop in which he parried a close-range diving header from Federico Vinas just after the half-hour mark.

Uruguay, two-time world champions in 1930 and 1950, struggled to make an impact in the opening period. Their arrival in the United States from Mexico had also been delayed because of paperwork issues involving their plane.

Uruguay improve after the break

With his side ineffective in the first half, Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa made two changes, taking off defender Matias Vina and striker Darwin Nunez and sending on Agustin Canobbio and Juan Manuel Sanabria. The substitutions lifted Uruguay, who, had not played any World Cup warm-up matches.

Saudi coach Georgios Donis, appointed only two months before the tournament, saw his team drop deeper as Uruguay increased the pressure. On the hour mark, Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte struck from long range and hit the foot of the Saudi post.

Uruguay eventually found the equaliser with 10 minutes remaining. Al-Owais failed to deal properly with what should have been a routine save, and Maxi Araujo converted the rebound to make it 1-1.

Uruguay then pushed for a winner and finished with 22 shots in the second half, but Saudi Arabia's defence held out to secure a point.

After the match, Bielsa said his team should have taken all three points.

"We should have won this match,"

the Argentine coach said. He also admitted his side had not performed to its full level.

"We weren't able to show the best version of ourselves,"

he said, adding that Uruguay only began to play properly after the break. Uruguay's next match is against Cape Verde.