Uruguay frustrated by dogged Saudi Arabia in World Cup draw

Uruguay's Maxi Araujo celebrates equalising in a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia in World Cup Group H (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA)Uruguay dominated but had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia in the sweltering heat of Miami on Monday to leave an intriguing Group H wide open.

>The stalemate came hours after one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history when European champions Spain were held 0-0 by debutants Cape Verde in the same group.

>After the first round of games in the pool all four teams have one point.

>Defender Abdulelah al-Amri gave the Saudis a surprise lead near the end of the first half only for Uruguay's second-half pressure to pay off with 10 minutes left through Maxi Araujo.

>Uruguay, World Cup winners in 1930 and 1950, saw their arrival in the United States from Mexico delayed by a snag with the paperwork for their plane.

>Marcelo Bielsa's side though had the first chance of the game when Araujo stung the palms of Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais after five minutes.

>In evening temperatures of more than 30C and energy-sapping humidity, both teams struggled to create much in front of goal early on.

>Just after the half-hour mark the Saudi stopper was called into action again to parry away a diving header from close range by Federico Vinas.

>The Saudis, who stunned eventual champions Argentina 2-1 to start their campaign at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, looked to hit their opponents on the break.

>They had their first real opportunity shortly before half-time when Amri forced Fernando Muslera to palm away his fizzing shot.

>Four minutes before the break the defender did score, reacting fastest to poke home from close range after Muslera spilled a header from a corner.

>After a toothless first period, Bielsa had seen enough, dragging off defender Matias Vina and anonymous former Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez.

>Winger Agustin Canobbio and left-sided Juan Manuel Sanabria were introduced.

>The double substitution sparked Uruguay -- who surprisingly did not play a single World Cup warm-up game -- into action in the second half.

>Saudi coach Georgios Donis, brought in just two months before the tournament, saw his team retreat farther and farther back.

>On the hour Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte pinged the ball against the foot of the Saudi post from well outside the box.

>The pressure finally told late on when Owais made a mess of a routine stop and Araujo gobbled up the rebound.

>There looked to be only one winner after that, but Saudi Arabia just about held on for a vital point.

>bur-pst/rcw