Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay Live Updates

Live updates: Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay

By Andrew McGarry

Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay

HT: Saudi Arabia leading Uruguay 1-0

By David Hirst

And that's the first half done in Miami.

41' Goal for Saudi Arabia!!!

By David Hirst

Saudi Arabia in front!

Hassan Al Tambakti fires a header towards goal from a corner. Muslera spills it and Abdulelah Al Amri bundles it home.

They deserved it.

38' Great save denies Saudi Arabia!

By David Hirst

Saudi Arabia close to the opener!

Fernando Muslera does brilliantly to keep out Abdulelah Al Amri's header.

29' Great save by Saudi keeper!

By David Hirst

Mohammed Al Owais makes a diving save to keep out Federico Vinas's header.

Best chance of the game.

22' Ad break time

By David Hirst

The players stop for a drink.

Pretty uninspiring stuff so far.

18' 'Game of chess'

By David Hirst

Socceroos legend Mark Schwarzer is commentating for SBS.

He says the game so far is a "game of chess".

He's spot on.

12' Saudi Arabia settling into the game

By David Hirst

Saudi Arabia have had more of the ball in the last five minutes.

I just wonder if they have the quality to worry the Uruguay defence.

4' Uruguay have first shot on target

By David Hirst

Cagey start to the game but Uruguay have had most of the ball and created the first chance.

Maxi Araujo fires a shot at goal but the keeper awkwardly palms it away.

And off we go in Miami!

By David Hirst

Saudi Arabia kick off the first half.

Australian referee explains hand signal

By David Hirst

The Australian referee at the centre of the World Cup hand gesture controversy has responded after calls to have him sacked from the tournament.

Shaun Evans, who was filmed in the review box before Germany's opening game against Curaçao on Monday morning, was accused of making a "white power" symbol after appearing to make a circle with his fingers.

In 2019, the gesture — with the thumb and forefinger touching in a circle and the other fingers outstretched — was designated a hate symbol by the New York-based Anti-Defamation League.

"I would like to clarify that I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind," Evans said in a statement.

"The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch, and I was unaware I had done it at the time. Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers."

Read the full story here.

Players heading out for national anthems

By David Hirst

Here come the teams!

Stadium gets a new name

By David Hirst

The game is being played at Miami Stadium.

It's usually called Hard Rock Stadium but FIFA has removed sponsor names for stadiums during the World Cup.

It's the home of the Miami Dolphins.

Darwin Nunez the danger man

By David Hirst

Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez had a tough spell with Liverpool, but he'll be a handful for Saudi Arabia.

And where does Nunez play his club football now?

Saudi Arabia.

Another Saudi upset?

By David Hirst

AP

Saudi Arabia pulled off one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history in Qatar 2022, knocking off eventual champions Argentina in its opening match.

Duplicating it in this year's opener will be tough.

Saudi Arabia also will be playing under a new coach in Georgios Donis, who was appointed in April after a sudden managerial change.

Uruguay's World Cup history

By David Hirst

Uruguay hosted the first World Cup in 1930, which they won.

They also won it in 1950.

Since then, they've struggled to make an impact.

The fans are still hopeful though.

Tough one to call

By David Hirst

Saudi Arabia and Uruguay face off in Miami.

Tough one to predict.

The majority of Saudi players play in the Saudi Pro League, with a bunch of them playing for champions Al Nassr, alongside a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.

I reckon Uruguay might have the edge though. Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde is quality.

It might come down to who can best deal with the Miami heat and humidity.

Team news: Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay

By David Hirst

The teams are in for our next game.

Two more games to come

By David Hirst

Hi, thanks to Andrew for a stirring effort this morning.

The goals have dried up after yesterday, but we still have two games to go.

First up is Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay, followed by Iran vs New Zealand.