Uruguay 1–1 Saudi Arabia
The water level in the Uruguay River is likely to rise considerably! The Aushr desert of Saudi Arabia will also be soaked. The World Cup is actually ‘responsible’ for such small changes in the terrain of two different continents of the world, in the eyes of people!
Those wet eyes started at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. It has two languages again. Tears of sorrow have accumulated in the South American river as Uruguay failed to win. The hot sands of Saudi Arabia are soaked in tears of joy mixed with regret. Despite winning against Uruguay, Saudi Arabia has not been able to win!
Because of that, the water of the Uruguay River did not rise as much as feared, but a few tears were shed. Uruguay is a two-time world champion. It has won two football events in the Olympics organized by FIFA, but it has four stars on its jersey. Uruguay was even 1-0 behind Saudi Arabia, which is 48 places behind in the FIFA rankings, until the 79th minute of the match!
Maximiliano Araujo scored in the 80th minute to save. Otherwise, tears would have flowed down the Uruguay River, which marks the border between Argentina and Uruguay! The Argentines would have sympathized from the other side. Their suffering is even greater. Argentina lost its first match against Saudi Arabia in the World Cup four years ago in Qatar. Uruguay’s suffering is a little less in comparison. At least they could start the World Cup with a point with a 1-1 draw.
Uruguay celebrate after Araujo’s goalAFP
What a night it was at the World Cup. First, the heavy favorites Spain were held to a goalless draw by newcomers Cape Verde. Then, Egypt was forced to draw against another big team in Europe, Belgium. After that match, Miami was in a state of earthquake.
In the end, Uruguay was not badly damaged by the shock. However, Bielsa received a ‘warning bell’. Fede Valverde’s quick attack, falling into the Saudi box, only managed to score 1 goal.
Bielsa’s attack was not to be blamed for much. Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Wais made nine saves. Al-Wais had to make the most saves in a World Cup to stop a desperate Uruguay. But he failed to do so with 11 minutes left. The Saudi goalkeeper blocked a header from Uruguay forward Federico Vinas’ cross. He was unable to stop Araujo’s left-footed shot on the rebound.
Saudi Arabia celebrates after scoring a goalAFP
On the other side of the field, Uruguay’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was not so tested. But he did not stand still either. Muslera had to make two great saves. But in the 41st minute, Saudi defender Abdullah Al-Amri had no answer to his shot. Muslera blocked Hassan Al-Tambakti’s header from a corner. Al-Amri’s shot reached the net on the rebound. Both goals were scored after the goalkeeper blocked the rebound.
The statistics will give a proof of how desperate Saudi Arabia played. They captured the ball floating in the air (aerial duel) 21 times against Uruguay. Uruguay was behind there (20). The South American country’s situation was similar to Spain. Spain could not score a goal even after taking 27 shots against Cape Verde. Fede Valverde also took 27 shots to save a goal and did not let the water of the Uruguay river rise any further. They can blame bad luck if they hit the post with one shot.Read more
Tunisia sack coach after crushing defeat to Sweden
Of course, that doesn’t discredit Saudi Arabia’s fight in the slightest; on the contrary, some in the country may shed a few tears on the hot sand in regret of the draw, even though they came so close to making a mistake in their first match at the World Cup.
Group H is now completely open. All four teams have one point. Saudi Arabia is probably dreaming of making it through the group stage this time, as the venue is the United States. They have only made it through the group stage once in their six previous World Cup appearances—the 1994 World Cup, which was also hosted by the United States.
https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2066656368258367928&lang=bn&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.prothomalo.com%2Fsports%2Ffootball%2Frd3bpc5fiw&sessionId=b02222d8c38104e2d4931b992e635a45bf28a5c1&siteScreenName=Prothomalo&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px
However, Saudi Arabia has been able to add another feather of success by maintaining the standards of the Asian continent. The countries affiliated to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) are yet to lose in the current World Cup. Two wins and three draws. On the other hand, none of the countries affiliated to the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) have yet to see a win.
Which continent, between these two continents, is ahead in football history?
That’s the point. Rather, let’s talk about rivers. There is no natural river in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the world without a permanent or natural river. On the other hand, Uruguay is named after the Uruguay River. Behind the naming of the river is a quail bird named ‘Uru’, given by the indigenous Guarani people of the continent. Whether the water of that river rises or not, there is no doubt that a little regret will be mixed in the hot sands of Saudi Arabia for not winning.
There is no doubt that in the extremely dry soil of Saudi Arabia, just a little more rain would have killed the ‘cuckoo’ bird!
