Uruguay 1 | 1 SAUDI ARABIA
Miami Gardens, June 16: Maxi Araujo finally gave the crowd of mostly Uruguay fans in South Florida something to cheer about with his tying goal late in Monday’s World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia.
La Celeste salvaged a point, but they were not thrilled with the result.
“We gave it away. We have to be honest,” midfielder Federico Valverde said in Spanish after his side played to a 1-1 draw, making up for a flat first half by controlling the second.
“We gave away the first half,” Valverde added. “We didn’t play the way we had trained. It wasn’t what we were aiming for. We rushed things too much. We wanted to win the game in the very first minute. Sometimes you need a bit more patience and just play our game. We improved a lot in the second half.” Abdulelah Al-Amri scored on a rebound in the 41st minute for Saudi Arabia, and Araujo got the equalizer in the 80th, firing a rebound past goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais from close range.
La Celeste dominated possession and had 29 attempts on goal to Saudi Arabia’s seven but trailed until late in the second half.It was the fourth international goal for Araujo and second at Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.
Al-Amri, who had a shot denied by Uruguay’s Fernando Muslera earlier in the first half, put his squad ahead with a quick tap-in after Muslera palmed away a header.
Al-Amri fell to his knees after the goal and placed his head down on the pitch as he was showered with cheers from Saudi Arabia fans, who were greatly outnumbered in South Florida but loud enough to make up the difference.
Four years ago, they watched their team deliver one of the most memorable moments of the 2022 World Cup, coming back to stun Lionel Messi and eventual champion Argentina 2-1 in Saudi Arabia’s opening match.Monday’s result was much less dramatic, but Saudi Arabia – behind a mostly solid performance by Al-Owais – was able to shut out Uruguay, a two-time World Cup champion, until late.The Green Falcons were more pleased with the outcome than their opponents.
“Uruguay is a team that is very energetic,” Saudi Arabia coach Georgios Donis said through an interpreter. (AP)
