Araujo rescues Uruguay with equaliser against Saudi Arabia

These two sides met on a humid evening in Miami, knowing that a win would send them to the top of Group H and make an early statement after Spain's surprise goalless draw with Cape Verde earlier in the day.

La Celeste were the favourites despite their recent poor form, and created an opportunity within the first five minutes when Mohammed Al Owais pushed away Maximiliano Araujo's strike from the edge of the penalty area.

Salem Al Dawsari then tested the goalkeeper after cutting in from the left, but his right-footed shot went well wide of the target.

Al Owais was called into action again to push away Federico Vinas' diving header, but the Saudis sensed a defensive weakness in this Uruguay team and took a stunning 41st-minute lead against the two-time World Cup winners.

Mohamed Kanno's initial header from Musab Al Juwayr's corner was saved by Fernando Muslera, but Abdulelah Al Amri showed impressive determination to tap in the rebound.

Significantly, that ended the Green Falcons' run of 16 World Cup matches without scoring the opening goal since beating Belgium 1-0 in 1994.

Marcelo Bielsa made two changes at half time, resulting in a much brighter start to the second half for Uruguay. Al Owais pushed Vinas' header to safety, before the Real Oviedo striker headed wide from Araujo's corner.

Saudi Arabia's slender lead was looking increasingly fragile as Manuel Ugarte drilled a long-range effort which hit the post in another big let-off for Georgios Donis' side.

Federico Valverde was also having more of an impact after Bielsa's tactical adjustment, and Al Owais was on hand once again to clear away the Real Madrid midfielder's free kick.

However, La Celeste deservedly equalised in the 80th minute when Araujo reacted quickest to the loose ball after Al Owais made yet another save to keep out Vinas' header.

That direct approach was causing the Saudis all sorts of problems, and Brian Rodriguez was not far from scoring a second when his fierce long-range strike flew just past the post.

Al Owais had an incredible night between the sticks and made arguably his best save of the night late on, with a fine one-handed stop to push away Valverde's effort in stoppage time.

Ultimately, the points were shared, leaving all four teams in Group H on one point after the opening round of matches. Both teams are back in action on Sunday, as Uruguay return to Miami to face Cape Verde, while Saudi Arabia head north to Atlanta where they will face 2010 champions Spain.