In 2022, Saudi Arabia beat Argentina. Repeat that sentence. They beat Argentina — Messi, Di María, the eventual world champions — in one of the most extraordinary individual moments in World Cup history. Salem Al Dawsari's curling finish in the second half is now etched into the tournament's mythology. Tonight, the 34-year-old captain makes history as the first Saudi player to appear at three separate World Cups, and he walks into Group H's most significant opening fixture.
Marcelo Bielsa coaching Uruguay is a combination that produces either beautiful, relentless, intense football or complete tactical chaos, with very little middle ground and no advance warning of which version you'll get. Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) provides the midfield engine. Ronald Araújo (Barcelona) anchors the defence. And Darwin Núñez — questionably match-sharp but Bielsa-trusted — leads the line in a humid Miami evening against a Saudi side that will absolutely not be intimidated by the two-time world champions' reputation.
Mancini has built on the 2022 miracle rather than resting on it. Al Dawsari leads by example and by memory — he knows what it means to win when nobody expected it. The Saudi squad has continued to develop through their domestic league's growth and their players' exposure to high-level club football. They're not Argentina-beaters every tournament. But they're far better than their ranking suggests, and they are absolutely not arriving at Group H as a pushover.
Bielsa's Uruguay press like their lives depend on it, which under Bielsa's management they essentially do. Valverde's extraordinary ability to cover ground, win the ball, and drive forward in a single movement is one of the tournament's great individual forces. Araújo at the back is among the world's elite defenders. The concern is up front: Núñez's lack of match sharpness could cost Uruguay at least one chance they'd normally convert, and at this level those chances matter.
Valverde scores one that nobody will stop talking about for three days. Saudi Arabia equalise with a Al Dawsari-led counter that serves as a reminder of exactly what they are capable of. Uruguay find a winner from a set piece — Araújo probably, using the aerial ability that Barça opponents know all too well. 2–1 Uruguay in a genuinely contested match. Saudi Arabia go home wondering if one point might have changed everything. The Galáctico nods from the couch. It nearly did.
Salem Al Dawsari at Three World Cups Is the Saudi Arabian Football Story That the Rest of the World Hasn't Properly Told Yet. He curled one past the eventual world champions' goalkeeper in Lusail. Now he's back, at 34, making history again. The Galáctico considers this one of the tournament's genuinely underappreciated stories. The couch is paying attention even if nobody else is.
Marcelo Bielsa Playing Darwin Núñez After Months Without Club Football Is Either the Most Romantic Managerial Decision or the Most Stubborn One. Bielsa believes in players. He believes in Núñez. The Galáctico does not argue with Bielsa, philosophically or otherwise. He simply notes that match sharpness exists for a reason, and hopes the Miami heat helps the muscles remember what competitive football feels like.
Group H Is Secretly the Best Group in the Tournament and Has Been Since the Draw. Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde. A European champion, two-time world champions, the team that beat Argentina, and a surprise qualifier. The Galáctico flagged this in the Group H preview and is flagging it again here. Group H will produce chaos in Matchday 3. The couch is already braced.