Two for two for the surprises in Group 8 of the 2026 World Cup. After the 0-0 draw that Cape Verde drew with Spain in the group’s premiere, it was Saudi Arabia’s turn. With Giorgos Donis at the helm, the “Green Falcons” secured a “golden” point from Uruguay (1-1) at the “Miami Stadium”, taking an important step towards reaching the “32” of the tournament.

Donis’ players, who became the first Greek coach to score in a World Cup final, not only “looked Uruguay in the eye” in the first 45 minutes, but also managed to enter the locker room with the lead in the score. Al Nasr’s 29-year-old defender, Al Amri, took advantage of Muslera’s temporary save on Al Khaybari’s header and “wrote” the 1-0 from close range in the 41st minute. 

With two substitutions made by Bielsa at the start of the second half, Uruguay played it all out. In the 60th minute, Ugarte’s dribble shot stopped at the root of the right post (Owais also found the ball a little), while in the 67th minute, the Saudi Arabia goalkeeper said “no” to Valverde’s direct free kick.

“Celeste” continued to press in every way and in the 80th minute managed to reach 1-1 with Araujo’s shot after Al Owais temporarily intervened on Viña’s header. In the 90th and 93rd minutes Al Owais was again in the right position, saving the same number of shots from Valverde.   

Referee: M. Mariani (Italy)
Yellow cards: Al Amri

The compositions of the teams:

SAUDI ARABIA (Georgos Donis): Al Owais, Al Amri, Al Tabaqti, Abdulhamid (90’+2 Lajami), Al Harbi (90’+2 Al Hamdan), Al Samat (81′ Bu Wasl), Al Juwair (63′ Nasser Al Dawsari), Al Khaybari, Kano, Salem Al Dawsari, Al Brikan (90’+2 Al Hajji)

URUGUAY (Marcelo Bielsa): Muslera, Caceres, Varela, Olivera, Viña (90′ Aguirre), Ugarte (72′ De la Cruz), Bendancur, Valverde, Araujo (81′ Rodriguez), Nunez (46′ Canobio), Viñas (46′ Sanabria)