Saudi Arabia and Uruguay meet in Miami with both seeking an opening win

Saudi Arabia faced Uruguay at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami in a Group H match, with kick off refereed by Italy’s Maurizio Mariani. The Saudis, coached by Georgios Donis, were looking to spring another surprise after their famous upset of Argentina in the previous World Cup. Donis, formerly of Maccabi Tel Aviv, was appointed in April after Hervé Renard left the job.

Uruguay, led by Marcelo Bielsa, arrived in the middle of a generational transition and without Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani. The focus had shifted to Federico Valverde, Ronald Araújo and Darwin Núñez. José Giménez, who had returned to training after flu, stayed on the bench, while 39-year-old Fernando Muslera started in goal as the only remaining player from the squad that finished fourth at the 2010 World Cup.

The only official meeting between the sides before this was at the 2018 World Cup, when Uruguay won 1-0 thanks to a Suárez goal. At the start of the match, the group standings showed Spain and Cape Verde on one point each after a 0-0 draw, while Uruguay and Saudi Arabia had not yet earned a point.

The rest of Group H schedule was also listed, with Spain facing Saudi Arabia in Atlanta on 21 June at 19:00, Uruguay meeting Cape Verde in Miami on 22 June at 01:00, Uruguay playing Spain in Guadalajara on 27 June at 03:00, and Cape Verde taking on Saudi Arabia in Houston at 03:00 the same day.