In the penultimate match of Monday’s action, Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay and Saudi Arabia played to a 1-1 draw after a 79th minute equalizer from Maxi Araujo canceled Abdulelah Al-Amri’s opener in the first half. It was a match that offered a tremendous amount of guile and effort that concluded with a result that now has everyone with a point a piece in Group H and all to play for in the remaining two matches after Cape Verde also valiantly drew against Spain.
After a poor first half, Uruguay came out like a young Mike Tyson in the second half, but the opposition just about held on thanks to a heroic performance from Mohammed Al Owais and his resilient defensive line, blocking almost everything that came at them.
It was a fun match with incredible intensity. Here are my four takeaways:
(Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP via Getty Images)
Uruguay’s high line against Saudi Arabia’s pass-first strategy proved to be a contrast of philosophies, so it made for entertaining viewing.
But most importantly, at least in the first half, Georgios Donis’ team took advantage of Uruguay’s gung-ho approach, where Bielsa always wants at least four players pushing forward towards the box. But in the second half, in typical Loco Bielsa fashion, it was all about La Celeste and its willingness to push no matter what. It’s like watching a classic NFL team’s blitz package over and over again.
It won’t surprise you to see that it’s actually very similar to Mauricio Pochettino’s United States plans as he is a disciple of Bielsa, and his Americans punished Paraguay last Friday. The difference here, however, is that Saudi Arabia are a technically savvy team, able to break through the lines. And the plan to counter worked better than Paraguay’s choice to just sit.
But Bielsa, who is going through a rocky period (when isn’t he?) with Uruguay after some squad selections and poor results in friendlies, threw caution into the wind and pushed his team to earn a point and deliver. It was the type of performance that personified Garra Charrua, the ultimate sacrifice to give it your all, no matter the cost.
(Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
Four years ago, the Green Falcons, under Herve Renard, shocked the world with a 2-1 victory over Argentina in their opening match of the World Cup. Tonight, it held its own against Uruguay and earned a valuable point. It’s also extra impressive because Donis only arrived to lead the team a few months ago, after Renard was let go. So there was a lot to do in order to prepare. And tonight, they made themselves proud.
Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais was absolutely magnificent, anticipating any danger and committing himself to the direct approach of his opponents. The stoppage-time save from Federico Valverde’s attempt was the best save of the tournament thus far. He did another one closer to stoppage time, continuing to deny the Uruguayan avalanche of chances. It was honestly a ridiculously good performance as perhaps Al Owais used inspiration from Cape Verde stopper Vozinha from earlier in the day.
At 34 years old, the Al-Hasa stopper is part of his third World Cup squad and performed admirably.
Mohamed Kanno from Al-Hilal was also brilliant in the midfield, able to go up against the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur and Manuel Ugarte.
But really, this is about the development of the Saudi Pro League and the amount of economic and structural injection it continues to possess. It’s paying off.
(Photo by Carmen Mandato – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
At the break, Bielsa took off the former Liverpool striker for Agustin Cannobio after failing to make any kind of impact, with zero shots on target and only eight touches. It’s a shame what’s happened to the man who was once so feared as a striker in Europe, notably during his days with Benfica.
At only 26, having left Al-Hilal after mutually agreeing to end the contract, Núñez is now a free agent, but in terms of suitors, nothing concrete as of right now. And sadly, the start he has had to this World Cup won’t help his chances of attracting more attention for a possible return to Europe.
As mentioned earlier, there is all to play for in this group as Uruguay will stay in Miami and face Cape Verde on Saturday whilst Saudi Arabia plays a tasty encounter against Spain in Atlanta, who will be in desperate mood as it searches for its first win of the tournament. They all do, really. So this group just became a must-watch drama.
