With 2 Flamengo players, Uruguay draw with Saudi Arabia at World Cup | OneFootball

Group H, featuring Uruguay, has all four teams on one point

Group H is the tightest in the World Cup! This Monday (15), La Celeste drew 1-1 with Saudi Arabia in the opening round of Group H. The match took place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, USA.

Two old acquaintances of Flamengo started in the lineup: Guillermo Varela, an important piece in Leonardo Jardim’s system; and Matias Viña, who is on loan at River Plate (ARG) until the end of the year. In addition, Nico De La Cruz came on in the second half.

With the result, Uruguay is level with the other teams in Group H. That is because, in the other match in the group, Cape Verde shocked the world by holding Spain to a 0-0 draw. As a result, all four teams have one point.

HOW DID THE MATCH GO?

Still without Arrascaeta, who is recovering from a calf injury, Uruguay started poorly and was dominated by Saudi Arabia. On the right side, Flamengo man Varela managed some good runs forward, but the South American team’s forwards could not find the net.

Then came the old saying: if you don’t take your chances, you get punished. After a corner into the box, the Saudi attack rose highest and got a shot away. Goalkeeper Fernando Muslera spilled it, and center back Abdulelah Al-Amri knocked it into the back of the net to open the scoring in the 41st minute.

At halftime, coach Marcelo ‘El Loco’ Bielsa made two changes. In one of them, former Flamengo player Viña was taken off and replaced by Juan Sanabria. In addition, Canobbio, from Fluminense, came on for Darwin Núñez. In the opening minutes of the second half, La Celeste nearly equalized after a pass from Varela.

In the second half, it was all Uruguay. In the 15th minute, after a move started by Varela, Ugarte unleashed a rocket off the post. Then, in the 26th minute, ‘Loco’ Bielsa sent on another Flamengo player, Nico De La Cruz, in place of Ugarte. And the midfielder brought luck. In the 36th minute, striker Viñas headed the ball, the Saudi goalkeeper parried it, and Maxi Araújo made it all square, much to the relief of Arrascaeta and company. In stoppage time, De La Cruz almost completed the comeback with a left-footed shot.

WHEN IS URUGUAY’S NEXT MATCH?

Probably still without Arrascaeta, who is being prepared to return in the third match, Uruguay will face Cape Verde in the next round. The match will take place on Sunday (21) at 7:00 p.m. Brasília time, once again at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, United States.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.