Saudi Arabia host Uruguay in Miami on a night that carries the ghosts of 2022. Four years ago in Qatar, Saudi Arabia produced the shock of the tournament by beating eventual champions Argentina 2-1 in one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history.

Now they attempt to rediscover that magic against Uruguay, two-time World Cup winners with Darwin Nunez, Federico Valverde, and one of the tournament’s most intense coaches in Marcelo Bielsa. Saudi Arabia walk into this match under a coach who has been in the job for barely two months. Group H, which also contains Spain and Cape Verde leaves no margin for a slow start.

Match Details

Competition: FIFA World Cup 2026 — Group H, Matchday 1

Date: Monday, June 15, 2026

Kick-off: 22:00 UTC (6:00 pm ET / 11:00 pm BST)

Venue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, USA

Capacity: 65,326

How to Watch Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay Live

Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay is live on ITV and available to stream on ITVX in the United Kingdom. Coverage is free-to-air for UK viewers. In the United States, the match airs on Fox Sports and Telemundo. Other international broadcasters include Globo and SporTV in Brazil, TyC Sports in Argentina, and TSN in Canada.

Group H Stakes

Group H is genuinely competitive from top to bottom. Spain are the clear group favourites, but the battle for the remaining qualification places between Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, and Cape Verde is wide open. This will be just the second World Cup meeting between these two, with Uruguay winning 1-0 in Rostov eight years ago when Luis Suarez scored the lone goal. A win here for Uruguay would put them in an excellent position to qualify behind Spain. A win for Saudi Arabia would transform the group entirely.

Saudi Arabia: The 2022 Magic and a New Coach

Having stunned Argentina with a 2-1 win in the 2022 World Cup, Saudi Arabia will be hoping for a similar result against South American opposition. Their task has been complicated by the sacking of manager Herve Renard in April. Georgios Donis, who had been managing in the Saudi Pro League, took charge of the national team but has only had the pre-World Cup friendlies to prepare.

Despite shockingly beating eventual winners Argentina in their first game at the 2022 World Cup, Saudi Arabia have lost 68 percent of their previous matches at the tournament, 13 of 19 which is the worst rate of any nation to have played 15 or more games. Nasser Al-Dawsari remains their captain and talisman with 34 international goals, and the Green Falcons’ best chance of an upset runs through his ability to produce a moment of individual quality against Uruguay’s defensive structure.

Saudi Arabia Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1)

Al-Owais; Abdulhamid, Al-Tambakti, Lajami, Boushal; Kanno, Al-Khaibari; Al-Dawsari (c), Al-Juwayr, Firas Al-Buraikan; Al-Shehri.

Injury news: Saudi Arabia will be without Nawaf Al Aqidi (muscle) for their opening match but are otherwise in strong shape.

Uruguay: Bielsa’s Machine

Uruguay are expected to control this fixture through their superior midfield quality and Marcelo Bielsa’s high-intensity pressing structure. Bielsa’s coaching philosophy, relentless pressing, positional discipline, vertical attacking transitions is one of the most demanding in world football, and the physical heat of a June evening in Miami could suit Uruguay’s fitness-first approach.

Jose Gimenez is the defensive captain alongside Ronald Araujo. Federico Valverde and Manuel Ugarte are both expected to feature centrally in Bielsa’s midfield, with Giorgian de Arrascaeta providing creativity. Darwin Nunez is the headline striker with 13 goals in 38 international appearances.

Key injury concern: Fitness doubts surround chief creator Giorgian de Arrascaeta, plus Ronald Araujo and captain Jose Maria Gimenez. If Gimenez misses out, vice-captain Valverde would wear the armband.

Uruguay Predicted Lineup (4-3-3)

Rochet; Varela, Araujo, Gimenez (c), Olivera; Valverde, Ugarte, De la Cruz; Rodriguez, Nunez, De Arrascaeta.

Prediction

Uruguay are priced at -200 to win, with the draw at +333 and Saudi Arabia out at +525. Saudi Arabia will set up to frustrate, sit deep, and look to nick something on the break.

Uruguay are clearly the superior team on paper. Bielsa’s high press against a Saudi side still adapting to a new coach two months into his tenure should be the decisive factor. But Saudi Arabia’s capacity for giant-killing, demonstrated emphatically in 2022 and the group stage pressure on Uruguay means the Green Falcons cannot be entirely written off.

Our prediction: Uruguay 2-0 Saudi Arabia. Darwin Nunez opens the scoring in the second half as Bielsa’s press eventually breaks Saudi Arabia’s defensive organisation.

This article will be updated with a full match report and highlights after the final whistle. Follow for live updates from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.