The 'Bielseada' has arrived: Uruguay drew 1-1 with Saudi Arabia in their World Cup debut

So far in the 2026 World Cup, South American teams have yet to win, and Uruguay was no exception. Following the surprise of the 0-0 draw between Spain and Cape Verde earlier, Group H delivered another unexpected result: a 1-1 draw for Saudi Arabia against the Charrúas.

During the initial minutes, although the Celeste would have their first promising shot at 4 from Maximiliano Araújo, which was saved by the Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais, the match did not show a clear dominator. In this context, the game would enter a prolonged plateau with no notable actions.

Only at minute 29, moments after the first cooling break, Marcelo Bielsa's team would be close to taking the lead again. After a clearance from Saudi defender Hassan Al Tambakti, Rodrigo Bentancur would cross for Araújo, who would bring the ball down to the center of the area, where Federico Viñas would push it into the goal with a diving header, but Al Owais managed to clear and the resulting rebound would not be capitalized on by Manuel Ugarte.

On the Asian side, after several attempts, they would finally have their first clear opportunity at 37: Musab Al-Juwayr would take a corner kick to the heart of the Charrúa area, where Abdulelah Al-Amri would receive it unmarked and shoot at goal, although Fernando Muslera would deflect it out with a punch.

And they wouldn't stop there, as shortly after they would create another dangerous play from a corner, which this time would end in a goal. At 39, Al-Juwayr would send it to Mohamed Kanno, who would win in the air and with a header force a poor rebound from Muslera, which Abdulelah Al-Amri would take advantage of to score 1-0.

Although towards the end of the first half Uruguay would have a couple of chances to equalize, the match would go to halftime with no further changes on the scoreboard. In the second half, after some substitutions, the Celeste would come out strong to achieve the equalizer, with a new diving header in the area from Viñas at 46 after a cross from Guillermo Varela, which would also be saved by Al Owais.

Clearly focused on reaching the equalizer, the South American team would begin to take control of possession and attacking situations, although they would lack precision. An example of this was at 59, when Ugarte would take a cross-shot from outside the area that hit the left post of a Saudi Arabia determined to defend their slim lead.

After several attempts, the Orientals would finally reach 1-1. At 79, Mathías Olivera would deliver a dangerous cross to Viñas, who would head it close to Al Owais, who would leave the ball alive in the area for Araújo to score the long-awaited equalizer with his left foot.

Despite having several situations that could have turned the tide, such as some long shots that Al Owais would barely save, the Celeste would not score again and the match would end in a draw.

After this draw in their debut, Uruguay will seek to earn three points against Cape Verde next Sunday, June 21 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia will try to surprise again against Spain on the same day at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.