Updated at\u00a018.23 EDT<\/p>\n
17 min Araujo\u2019s shot aside, it\u2019s been one big stalemate so far. I\u2019m sure it will liven up, but for now the only thing to say is that Uruguay\u2019s home kit might be their best since Italia 90.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n 13 min Lots of possession for Saudi Arabia<\/a> in the last few minutes, most of it in their own half.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 12 min \u201cWith Fede Valverde playing for Uruguay<\/a>, there\u2019ll be something worth watching in this one,\u201d writes Justin Kavanagh. \u201cHe\u2019ll probably either score an outrageous first-half hat-trick or kick Bielsa\u2019s bucket from under him as he gets subbed early. Hopefully, Uruguay will progress to a knockout meeting with France, where Real Madrid \u2018teammates\u2019 Valverde and Tchouam\u00e9ni can really express how they feel about each other.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 9 min \u201cCounterfactual history is the last refuge of the nerd,\u201d boasts K\u00e1ri Tulinius, \u201cbut I can\u2019t help but wonder what a meeting between Saudi Arabia<\/a> and Uruguay at the 1986 World Cup would\u2019ve been like, when both were continental champions, which they would defend. It\u2019s Saudi Arabia\u2019s golden age of football, and though it\u2019s not Uruguay\u2019s, they had a serious team.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Green Falcons did well in the Afro-Asiatic Cup against Cameroon in 1985, so they\u2019d probably have given the South Americans a proper game. Anyway, they didn\u2019t meet until early this century, so we\u2019ll never know. Anyway, yes, football nerdery is a lonely pursuit.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019d love to know whether Uruguay \u2013 who were one of the pre-tournament favourites in 1986 \u2013 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\u2019ve just scanned their results from 1983-86 and it looks like they\u2019d lost their way before the World Cup<\/a> started.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 6 min Araujo\u2019s outswinging corner from the left is headed down at the far post and collected by Al-Owais.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 5 min Vinha\u2019s 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\u2019s the main thing.<\/p>\n Maxi Araujo has an early effort on goal for Uruguay. Photograph: Molly Darlington\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.17 EDT<\/p>\n 3 min A quiet start, nothing to see yet.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 2 min The Saudi Arabia<\/a> attack is led by Salem al-Dawsari, who scored the winner in their astounding win over Argentina four years ago.<\/p>\n Salem al-Dawsari<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Today\u2019s match is in M-I-A-M-I<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hoping for a chaotic game,\u201d writes Andrew Goudie, \u201cwith N\u00fa\u00f1ez supplying most of the havoc. I\u2019m also enjoying Duncan Ferguson\u2019s punditry on ITV.\u201d<\/p>\n Big Dunc is so likeable. His evolution from Throat Man to cuddly next-door neighbour makes me feel warm and fuzzy.<\/p>\n Duncan Ferguson gives Leicester\u2019s Steffen Freund something to think about. Photograph: Darren Staples\/REUTERSShare<\/a>Day five at the World CupShare<\/a>Saudi Arabia team guide<\/p>\n Where to start? Perhaps towards the end of April when Herv\u00e9 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.<\/p>\n Renard was in charge from 2019 to 2023 and oversaw the famous win against Argentina<\/a> at the Qatar World Cup, but broke football\u2019s \u201cnever go back\u201d rule in October 2024, succeeding his successor Roberto Mancini, who never looked like the right fit. The Frenchman\u2019s second spell was underwhelming and without the tournament\u2019s expansion the Green Falcons would not have made it, and only scraped through as it was.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s football \u2026 Saudi Arabia<\/a> have qualified for the World Cup seven times, including twice with me,\u201d Renard said as he left. \u201cAnd there\u2019s only one coach who has led them through both the qualifiers and the World Cup; that\u2019s me, in 2022. At least there will be that sense of pride.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Uruguay team guide<\/p>\n By Luis Inzaurralde<\/p>\n Marcelo Bielsa has left his indelible mark on this Uruguay<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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 Am\u00e9rica (finishing third<\/a>).<\/p>\n There was the extraordinary football played in the second half of 2023, when Argentina<\/a> and Brazil were beaten<\/a>, 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<\/a> 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<\/a> and 0-0 with Algeria.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Team news<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Subs: Al-Aqidi, Al-Dawsari, Al-Ghannam, Al-Hamdan, Al-Johani, Al-Kassar, Al-Shehri, Boushal, Hejji, Kadesh, Lajami, Majrashi, Mandash, Thakri, Yahya.<\/p>\n Uruguay (4-2-3-1): Muslera; Varela, C\u00e1ceres, Olivera, Vi\u00f1a; Ugarte, Bentancur; M Ara\u00fajo, Valverde, Vi\u00f1as; N\u00fa\u00f1ez.<\/p>\n Subs: Aguirre, Bueno, Canobbio, de la Cruz, Gimenez, Martinez, Mele, Pellistri, Piquerez, Rochet, Rodriguez, Sanabria, Zalazar.<\/p>\n Referee Maurizio Mariani (Italy)<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.55 EDT<\/p>\n Preamble<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Saudi Arabia<\/a> v Uruguay at the Miami Stadium. Saudi Arabia started the last World Cup with a stunning victory over Argentina. They\u2019d love to do the same another South American giant tonight \u2013 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.<\/p>\n Uruguay didn\u2019t 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 \u2013 and their ability to attract or cause controversy.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve been a fixture since then and, while it\u2019s hard to see them adding a third triumph to sit alongside 1930 and 1950, they never leave a World Cup<\/a> without making an impression. Last time around, they and Ghana managed to knock each other out of the competition.<\/p>\n Whatever Uruguay achieve this time round, it won\u2019t be dull, not when they are coached by Marcelo Bielsa.<\/p>\n Kick off 6pm EDT\/11pm BST\/8am AEST<\/p>\n The pre-match calm in Miami. Photograph: Julian Finney\/Fifa\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.10 EDT<\/p>\n Uruguay\u2019s preparations for their opening World Cup<\/a> game against Saudi Arabia were severely disrupted after their flight from Mexico was hit by multiple delays.<\/p>\n Marcelo Bielsa\u2019s squad had been due to fly from Canc\u00fan to Fort Lauderdale early on Sunday afternoon, but paperwork issues relating to the plane led to their initial flight being cancelled.<\/p>\n A second plane was then commissioned to take Uruguay<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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. \u201cThe flight caused no problems,\u201d Bielsa said.<\/p>\n![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781562370_364_Matt_Hughes.png\")
Matt Hughes<\/p>\n