10.
00:14
Referee Maurizio Mariani’s line has been very generous so far, so that several strong physical attacks have not been whistled.
8.
00:12
When playing against the ball, Mohammed Abu Al Shamat drops back to the back row, allowing Saudi Arabia to operate from a 5-3-2 formation as soon as Celeste has the ball. Uruguay, meanwhile, remains true to its 4-4-2 system.
6.
00:10
Uruguay also looks for a way forward on the left side before receiving a cross from Matías Viña. This cross is not cleared enough, allowing Maxi Araújo to fire a long-range shot from 22 meters. Mohammed Al Owais plays it safe and directs the ball past the goal with both fists. The subsequent corner comes to Viña, who tries a touch-down shot from around seven meters high at the right post, but he starves to death on the way to the goal.
5.
00:09
First degree Araújo
3.
00:07
After winning the ball on the halfway line, Abdullah Al Khaibari wants to make the game quicker on the half-left. However, his pass to Musab Al Juwayr is a little too imprecise, so Fernando Muslera can easily pick up the ball in the penalty area.
1.
00:05
Saudi Arabia starts with the ball and wears the classic conceit green. The Celeste is active in sky blue.
1.
00:04
Game start
11:55 p.m
A few thunderstorm cells can be seen in Florida and especially around Miami. As a result, there may be delays during this game if lightning strikes near the stadium. However, the initial forecasts suggest that the first half should not be affected. As a result, it remains exciting in this respect to see whether the encounter can be carried out without unwanted breaks.
23:43
Before the game kicks off, the Celeste are already facing the first setback. Ronald Araujo failed to get fit in time after suffering a calf injury, meaning Marcelo Bielsa’s men will have to play the opener without him. Midfield strategist Giorgian de Arrascaeta is also unavailable for the South Americans, who also has to take a break due to a calf injury. As a result, the Uruguayans are led primarily by Federico Valverde and Darwin Núñez. On the other hand, Georgios Donis has no personnel worries, so he can rely on all 26 players he called up for the World Cup.
11:30 p.m
The Uruguayans qualified for the World Cup much more relaxed than the nominal home team this evening. With 28 points from 18 games, the Urus took fourth place in the South American qualifying group, in which all South American teams play against each other twice. Only Argentina and Ecuador were able to pull away slightly from the rest of the field. However, Marcelo Bielsa’s team found itself one place ahead of four-time world champions Brazil. In addition, the two-time Copa America winners only suffered one defeat in the last nine games, but it was a very clear 5-1 defeat against the USA in mid-November. Unlike today’s opponents, Uruguay did not play a public friendly match before the World Cup.
23:21
Qualifying for the title fights in the USA, Mexico and Canada was very bumpy for Georgios Donis’ men. After the three-time Asian champions only finished third in the first qualifying round behind Japan and Australia, with the gap to direct qualification being a full six and ten points respectively, the Saudis then prevailed against Iraq and Indonesia, so that a final showdown for the last World Cup ticket could be avoided. The Green Falcons couldn’t overcome these ups and downs in preparation, so there were two defeats in March before they left the field with one win, one draw and one defeat since the end of May.
23:09
In Group H, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay will now also play in the first game of the 2026 World Cup. After Spain, completely surprisingly, did not get beyond a goalless 0-0 draw against Cape Verde earlier in the evening, both the lead in the table and a good starting position for the following games are at stake. Under normal circumstances, the Uruguayans and the Saudis are fighting for second place in the table, which would guarantee a place in the first round of the playoffs. Accordingly, the first encounter is very important for both teams.
11:00 p.m
Hello and welcome to the second game of Group H between Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. The three-time Asian champion meets the two-time world champion from South America in Miami at 00:00.