Saudi Arabia recorded a draw against South American power Uruguay in its opening group stage match at the 2026 World Cup, extending Asia's unbeaten run in the tournament.
Saudi Arabia, ranked 61st in the FIFA rankings, drew 1-1 with Uruguay (ranked 16th) in the Group H opener at Miami Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sunday.
Four years ago at the 2022 Qatar tournament, Saudi Arabia had beaten Argentina 2-1 in its group stage opener. By drawing 1-1 with Uruguay this time, the team pulled off another upset.
The draw earned Saudi Arabia one point, the same as Uruguay, but the team finished second in Group H after losing out on the fair play score by having received one yellow card.
In the earlier match, Spain, which drew scoreless with Cape Verde, finished third on a "FIFA ranking advantage" with both on one point.
Saudi Arabia will play its second group stage match against Spain at 1 a.m. Korea time on the 22nd at Atlanta Stadium in the United States.
In particular, with Saudi Arabia's draw, the unbeaten run of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) members in the World Cup group stage openers also continued.
The "Asian unbeaten run," which began when South Korea beat the Czech Republic 2-1, extended to a fifth match as Saudi Arabia secured a 1-1 draw against a "strong opponent" Uruguay. Along the way, Qatar drew with Switzerland, Australia defeated Türkiye 2-0, and Japan drew 2-2 with the Netherlands.
Saudi Arabia effectively defended against Uruguay's relentless offensive in the first half. In the fifth minute, the goalkeeper calmly saved Maximiliano Araujo's left-footed long-range shot and the subsequent header from Federico Vinas off a corner kick.
Having shrunk back against Uruguay's early offensive, Saudi Arabia launched its counterattack in the 17th minute with a long-range shot from "veteran winger" Salem Al-Dawsari from just outside the left of the penalty area.
Al-Dawsari was the one who scored the winning goal when Saudi Arabia beat Argentina 2-1 in the Group C opener at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Saudi Arabia eventually scored the opening goal from a set piece in the 41st minute. On a right-side corner kick, Mohammed Kanno attempted a header from the front of the penalty area, which the goalkeeper saved and spilled, before Abdulelah Al-Amri quickly rushed in and pushed it home with his right foot to shake Uruguay's net.
Trailing 0-1 at halftime, Uruguay launched an all-out offensive to equalize from the start of the second half.
Uruguay was left frustrated in the 60th minute when Manuel Ugarte's long-range shot struck Saudi Arabia's right post.
Uruguay finally scored an equalizer in the 80th minute. A cross sent in from the left midfield was met by a header from Federico Vinas, which the goalkeeper saved and spilled, before Maximiliano Araujo quickly pushed it home with his left foot to level the match.
With momentum on its side, Uruguay launched a fierce attack to score a comeback goal in the remaining time but ultimately failed to add another, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
