While You Were Sleeping: Uruguay salvage draw against Saudis, New Zealander held by Iran
STUNNER: Maxi Araujo scores a thunderous equaliser against Saudi Arabia. Picture: Lars Baron/Getty
Another game, another draw. And another surprise result. Uruguay were held in Miami by Saudi Arabia despite snatching a late goal thanks to Maximiliano Araújo's tight-angle strike.
Earlier, Mohamed Kanno's goalbound header was saved by Fernando Muslera but the Uruguayan shotstopper could only palm it into the path of centre-back Abdulelah Al-Amri who was happy to poke home for the Saudi's.
The South Americans responded well, peppering the Saudi goal and forcing keeper Mohammed Al-Owais into a couple of fantastic saves, the first a super stop down low from a diving Darwin Nunez header.
The second came from a Manuel Ugarte long-range strike, the keeper tipping the ball onto the post at full stretch.
Eventually Uruguay would find their equaliser and it was hard to say they hadn't earned it - with 27 shots in total.
In strikingly similar circumstances to the first goal, Federico Vinas' header from a Juan Sanabria cross was palmed away by Al-Owais to Araújo whose powerful left-footed strike fizzed past the keeper from a tight-angle to shore things up late on.
Read the full match report here.
M Al-Owais; S Abdulhamid (A Lajami 90'), A Al-Amri, H Al-Tombakti, M Al-Harbi (A Al-Hamddan 90'); S Abu Al-Shamat (N Bu Washl 81'), M Kanno, A Al-Khaibari, S Al-Dawsari; F Albrikan (A Alhaji 90'), M Al-Juwayr (N Al-Dawsari 63').
A Al-Amri.
F Muslera; G Valera, S Cáceres, M Olivera, M Vina (J Sanabria 45'); F Valverde, M Ugarte (N de la Cruz 72'), R Bentancur, M Araújo (B Rodriguez 81'); F Vinas (R Aguirre 90'), D Núnez (A Canobbio 45').
M Mariani.
F Valverde (Uruguay).
"An opponent we should have beaten; we gave away minutes in the first half that suggests we didn't do things right. We had to win this match."
Currently I'm trying to learn my team, I'm trying to learn my players and get to know them. We know how to play 4-4-2 or 4-3-2-1, but we must be able to play with three midfielders or with five defenders. At the moment, unfortunately, we're not that flexible."
CONMEBOL nations are yet to win a game (D2 L2) or even hold a lead in the 2026 competition, marking their worst start to a tournament since 1974 (9 matches, D6 L3) - OptaAnalyst.
Group H is completely up for grabs after Day 5 of the FIFA World Cup! pic.twitter.com/LJtBop6Smh
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 16, 2026
New Zealand played out the fourth draw of the day in Los Angeles.
It didn't take the All Whites long to break the deadlock. After some neat link up play, Chris wood flicked the ball up to Elijah Just in the box and the winger smashed it high into the Iran net on the volley to give his side an early advantage.
Iran threatened in the 23rd minute when a counter-attack ended with captain Mehdi Taremi hitting the post.
They would have better luck ten minutes later though when full-back Ramin Rezaeian finished a move he started in style, with the outside of his right boot from eight yards out.
Just struck again early in the second period, teed up again by Nottingham Forest striker Wood in a move that can only be described as straight from the Pep Guardiola playbook. Passing in tight quarters, Wood and Just linked up once more, Just eventually finessing it past Iran keeper Beiranvand.
But Iran were far from intent on letting New Zealand pull away and drew level on 64 minutes. Rezaeian's cross found the head of Mohammad Mohebi who nodded it past All White keeper Max Crocombe who stood rooted to the spot.
Read the full match report here.
A Beiranvand; R Rezaeian, S Khalilzadeh, A Nemati, M Mohammadi; M Mohebbi, S Ghoddos (E Hajsafi 65'), S Ezatolahi, A Yousefi (M Ghayedi 45'); S Shahriar (A Alipour 53'), M Taremi (A Hosseinzadeh 80').
E Hajsafi.
M Crocombe; T Payne (C Elliot 78'), F Surman, M Boxall, L Cacace (B Old 68'); J Bell, M Stamenic (M Stamenic 92'), C McCowatt (R Thomas 68'), S Singh (J Randall 92'), E Just; C Wood.
César Palazuelos.
E Just (New Zealand).
Played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Los Angeles, the game had an electric pro-Iranian crowd. This is mainly due to LA being home to "Tehrangeles," one of the largest Iranian communities in the world outside of Iran.
Draws across the board in the opening leg of Group G action! pic.twitter.com/WEMrhcOSOl
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 16, 2026
In what was perhaps the shock of the tournament so far, Cape Verde held European champions Spain to a goalless draw in Atlanta and were even close to snatching a winner in the dying moments. Read the full report here.
The later game in Seattle also ended in a stalemate. Belgium rescued a point thanks to a Romelu Lukaku strike after 66 minutes - that was eventually deemed an own goal - after Emam Ashour put the Egyptians ahead earlier in the contest, assisted by Mohamed Salah on his 34th birthday. Read the full report here.
Belgium’s Jeremy Doku is due to become a father for the first time while the World Cup is still on, and wants to be at the birth, creating a potential dilemma for the team.
The 24-year-old winger is one of the key elements of the Belgium side, and plans for him to leave the United States and return home for the birth of his child are being put in place.
Doku told reporters his wife Shireen is due in the second week of July, when the tournament has reached the quarter-final stage, and if Belgium are still involved, he wants to be at the birth.
“It depends on when it happens, but it's my first child, so I would definitely want to be there,” he said.
“If you ask me what I want, my answer is that nobody wants to miss the birth of their first child. But I also know that football involves many other considerations.
“I know the federation supports its players and understands their situations. We'll see what we can do,” he added.
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Meanwhile, Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper (full name: Josimar Dias) who was named player of the match after making seven saves in his side’s 0-0 draw against Spain, was in tears at full time. The mother of Cape Verde’s World Cup hero was not there to see history made because she could not afford the visa to the US.
The goalkeeper described the game as the moment he had been working towards his “entire life” and said he wished he could have shared the moment with his late grandparents and his mother.
In January the US government added Cape Verde to the list of countries whose citizens have to post a returnable bond of up to $15,000 before travelling to the US, on top of the visa fee. As a result, Vozinha’s mother was unable to complete her application.
William Saliba reportedly sat out a recent France training session as he continues to nurse a back issue. The Arsenal centre-back played the full 120 minutes of their Champions League defeat to PSG, and 45 minutes of the 3-1 pre-tournament friendly win over Northern Ireland having sat out the defeat to Ivory Coast.
It raises the question over whether the 25-year-old will be fit to feature against Senegal. Saliba is set to be one of France’s star performers in North America this summer and his absence against the 2025 AFCON winners would be a blow. Of course, Les Bleus have strength in depth at the back. None, though, show the same composure as Saliba.
Norway booked their first World Cup spot since France 1998, and did so in style as they won all eight qualification matches. They did the double over 2006 winners Italy, bagging seven times against the Azzurri. An 11-1 victory over Moldova was also a stand out result.
The Red, White and Blue actually scored at least eight more goals (37) than any other team in European qualification. Erling Haaland bagged 16 of those, that haul more than any other player. The Manchester City hitman heads to North America with a third Premier League Golden Boot in the trophy cabinet. As they look to get their World Cup campaign off to a winning start, Iraq seems the best opponent to face.
“It could be today, Grandma.” Lionel Messi uttered the famous phrase shortly before Gonzalo Montiel’s World Cup winning penalty in Qatar four years ago. Now, Argentina are looking to become just the third nation to successfully defend their crown.
And they’ll kick off their defence against Algeria. This clash with the African powerhouse will also mark the beginning of the end for Messi’s World Cup career. The 38-year-old was instrumental for Lionel Scaloni’s men in 2022, scoring seven goals and providing three assists in a Golden Ball-winning showing in the Middle East. On familiar American turf, he’ll hope his last dance brings about a second World Cup winners’ medal.
Days before Austria’s 2026 World Cup campaign got underway against tournament debutants Jordan, Ralf Rangnick extended his stay as head coach through to Euro 2028. “Rangnick will continue the successful run with the Austrian national team and remain in his role with the Austrian Football Assocation at least until UEFA Euro 2028,” a statement read.
Austria eased to the summer showpiece, winning six of eight matches. It’s obvious why they were keen to tie Rangnick down to a new deal, especially as AC Milan were sniffing around. “We were contacted three weeks ago, and there were discussions,” Rangnick explained as the Rossoneri assessed their options following Max Allegri’s exit. Rather, another former Manchester United manager - Ruben Amorim - is set to take over the San Siro reins.
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