Miami: Maxi Araujo cleaned up an 80th-minute rebound opportunity to help Uruguay salvage a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia in both teams' Group H opener on Monday evening in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Araujo's leveler was a just reward for Uruguay's much-improved effort after halftime. But Marcelo Bielsa's No. 18-ranked side in the FIFA World Rankings may still feel this was an opportunity missed after Spain were held to a shock 0-0 draw by Cape Verde in the other Group H fixture earlier Monday.
Abdulelah Al-Amri capitalized on poor set-piece defending to put the Saudis in front in the 41st minute.
Mohammed Al-Owais made 10 saves for the Green Falcons, who had eyes on another upset after famously beating eventual champions Argentina to open their 2022 tournament.
But La Celeste were the dominant side in the second 45 minutes after Bielsa took dramatic halftime action, inserting Agustin Canobbio and Juan Manuel Sanabria in place of Darwin Nunez and Matias Vina.
Saudi manager Georgios Donis strangely made only one change through 80-plus minutes despite his side looking visibly fatigued as the match wore on in muggy South Florida.
Al-Owais just about rescued him, denying Federico Vinas in the 46th minute and Manuel Ugarte in the 60th.
But Araujo finally found a way past the 34-year-old after Al-Owais denied another effort from Vinas but could not push it clear of danger.
With the ball on the bounce, the Sporting Lisbon man guided a rebound effort between the goalkeeper and the near post for his third goal in a competitive international competition. The other two came during Uruguay's third-place showing at the 2024 Copa America.
Al-Owais continued his heroics into stoppage time, sprawling to his left to keep out Federico Valverde's excellently struck low effort from beyond the box.
Al-Amri nearly put the Saudis in front in the 38th minute when he had time to control a corner with his chest and force Fernando Muslera into a sprawling save from his well-struck half-volley.
He scored his first international goal in a competitive fixture three minutes later when he reacted in time to poke in the rebound of Mohammed Kano's header from another Saudi corner.
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