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Fifa’s embrace of rapacious American capitalism may have found its limits in Miami, one of the entertainment capitals of the world.Despite just seven tickets showing as available on their official website at kick-off there were thousands of empty seats – and empty concourses – throughout most of this game, a hard-fought draw which leaves Group H deadlocked following Cape Verde’s stunning draw with Spain earlier in the day.Gianni Infantino has famously attempted to portray the World Cup as 104 Super Bowls, although judging by this turnout the locals require some convincing. While the official attendance was given as 62,764 out of a capacity of 64,478, many did not turn up until the second half, with Fifa sources claiming that a crash on the highway was responsible for the late arrivals.Miami has more Instagram influencers per capita than Los Angeles and New York, which suggests that Fifa should have recruited some of them to help shift tickets rather than the ubiquitous IShowSpeed, whose hyperactivity has begun to irritate some A-list guests in Fifa’s VVIP areas.As their city is built on celebrity and glamour Miami residents are not easily impressed, and even sports fans are spoilt for choice.The Hard Rock Stadium has hosted six Super Bowls and is a regular staging post on the Formula One circuit, so a group stage World Cup game featuring two goal-shy sides was never going to be a red letter day.The empty seats also showed the potential pitfalls of Fifa’s reliance on another US staple, the secondary ticketing market, as there is no doubt the tickets were sold.Given that the face value of category one and two tickets was $430 and $600 respectively it appears unlikely there were thousands of deliberate no-shows, with a more plausible scenario being that tickets snapped up by speculative opportunists were not sold on.Uruguay deserved their point after coming from behind, as they controlled for all but the last 10 minutes of the first half when Abdulelah al-Amri gave Saudi Arabia the lead against the run of play.Uruguay’s preparations for the game had been disrupted by a delay to the flight from Cancún to Fort Lauderdale, in the latest example of the potential pitfalls of staging a multi-country World Cup, but their travel problems did not appear to have had any lasting effect.As one would expect from a Marcelo Bielsa side they dominated possession from the outset and created a good chance in just the fifth minute, when Federico Vinas’s cross from the left was met by Ronald Araújo, whose shot was saved by goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais.There was a polite enquiry for a penalty in the 20th minute when Sebastián Cáceres shot struck the hand of Hassan al-Tambakti, but his arm was clearly by his side and their best chance of the first half fell to Vinas, whose low diving header went straight at Owais.Cheered on loudly by an impressive showing of fans clad in green, Saudi Arabia hung in the game and got their reward just before half-time.Amri had already brought an excellent save from Fernando Muslera with a powerful header from a corner in the 38th minute before he gave his side the lead from another set-piece three minutes later.Musab al-Juwayr’s cross was met by a header from Tambakti, which Muslera parried, with Amri quickest to react by tapping into the net. Muslera will have been annoyed that he did not catch the ball cleanly, as was Bielsea judging by his thunderous expression on the sidelines.Bielsa responded by making two changes at half-time, including removing Darwin Núñez, who even allowing for the hot and humid conditions had looked off the pace throughout.In fairness to the former Liverpool striker he has only played two matches – both for Uruguay in March – since February, when he was deregistered by Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal following their signing of Karim Benzema.Bielsa also moved Federico Valverde to a more central role after he had been largely anonymous wide on the right during the first half, a tactical switch which made a difference as Uruguay’s dominance returned.Saudi Arabia defended stoically however, and limited their opponents to half-chances from crosses. Vinas and the substitute Agustín Canobbio both headed wide, while Owais made another good save from Manuel Ugarte, whose shot from the right was pushed onto the far post.Uruguay continued to attack down the flanks, though, and an equaliser that felt inevitable arrived in the 80th minute. Mathías Olivera’s cross was headed towards goal by Vinas, Owais failed to catch the ball, and Maxi Araújo reacting quickest with a neat side-footed finish at the near post.Owais made amends in injury time however, making two good saves from Nicolás de la Cruz and Valverde.After dropping two points Spain were the real winners from this result, and will aim to capitalise when they face Saudi Arabia in Atlanta. Uruguay return here to face Cape Verde on Sunday, which will also present another test of Fifa’s sales strategy.

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Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Saudi Arabia v Uruguay at the Miami Stadium. Saudi Arabia started the last World Cup with a stunning victory over Argentina. They’d love to do the same another South American giant tonight – not least because it would increase their chances of getting out of a World Cup group for only the second time. The first, as any football nerd worth their loneliness will know, came on their World Cup debut at USA 94.Uruguay didn’t even qualify for that tournament. They also missed out in 1998 and 2006, but a memorable run to the semi-finals in 2010 reminded everyone of their pedigree – and their ability to attract or cause controversy.They’ve been a fixture since then and, while it’s hard to see them adding a third triumph to sit alongside 1930 and 1950, they never leave a World Cup without making an impression. Last time around, they and Ghana managed to knock each other out of the competition.Whatever Uruguay achieve this time round, it won’t be dull, not when they are coached by Marcelo Bielsa.

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Bielsa unruffled but Giménez says situation was ‘difficult’Initial flight from Mexico cancelled and second delayedUruguay’s preparations for their opening World Cup game against Saudi Arabia were severely disrupted after their flight from Mexico was hit by multiple delays.Marcelo Bielsa’s squad had been due to fly from Cancún to Fort Lauderdale early on Sunday afternoon, but paperwork issues relating to the plane led to their initial flight being cancelled.A second plane was then commissioned to take Uruguay to South Florida, but that flight was also delayed and they eventually arrived for the pre-match press conference at Miami Stadium several hours late.An unusually taciturn Bielsa played down the impact of the delay on his players, who undertook most of their preparations at a two-week training camp in Montevideo before spending the last week in Mexico. “The flight caused no problems,” Bielsa said.The Uruguay captain, José María Giménez, was more frank in describing the delays as “difficult”, while others at the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) were less diplomatic.“We had some complications,” the Atlético Madrid defender said. “It was difficult, but we took advantage by resting at the hotel. And we just got here later.”The delays were caused by the paperwork required to begin the flight not being ready by the scheduled time of take-off. Asked if Fifa was ultimately responsible for the delays, an AUF spokesperson agreed.In a statement released after the first delay, the AUF said: “Due to problems beyond the control of the AUF, the departure from Mexico has been delayed. The squad is resting at the hotel. The new departure time set by Fifa is 4.15pm.”AUF officials later emphasised their unhappiness by posting a message on their X account originally sent by the former Uruguay striker Diego Forlán’s in 2010, in which he bemoaned the fact that the national team’s charter flight had been delayed an hour one day before their first World Cup game in South Africa. “Who is to blame???” Forlán wrote, followed by “Arriba Uruguay!!”Uruguay’s travel chaos is the latest example of the issues caused by Fifa’s decision to stage the World Cup in three separate countries for the first time, which has caused problems for several competing teams.Iran have been unable to obtain visas for many of their backroom team to enter the United States from their training camp in Mexico, while Ghana midfield player Thomas Partey was denied a visa by the Canadian government due to his arrest on rape charges in the United Kingdom, which will prevent him playing in their opening game against Panama in Toronto.Uruguay have been based in the Mexican coastal resort of Playa del Carmen for their World Cup buildup where they trained earlier in the day before heading to Cancún international airport, where their problems began.Bielsa is leading Uruguay at a World Cup for the first time having previously taken charge of his native Argentina in 2002 and Chile eight years later, but despite his vast experience the coach’s three-year reign has not run smoothly.The 70-year-old was facing calls to resign last November following a humiliating 5-1 friendly defeat to the United States, which led him to publicly question the attitude of his players, but he refused to quit.Two draws against England and Algeria calmed nerves in March, but Uruguay have not played since, with Bielsa taking the unusual decision not to sanction any pre-tournament friendlies.Uruguay will have the considerable support of about 10,000 fans in the US, many of whom have been highly visible in Miami over the past few days, with most of their hopes pinned on talismanic midfielder Federico Valverde. The Real Madrid captain endured a difficult club season, but for Uruguay he is likely to be pivotal.“From the moment he became a part of our team the influence of his game was seen,” Bielsa said. “He is so resourceful. The way he helps us play is no secret. We try to have possession of the ball, we try to go forward, we try to attack. We are facing a good team who will not be easy opponents.”Saudi Arabia have also endured a troubled buildup to the tournament, although not in the last 24 hours, and remarkably their manager, George Donis, will be leading the team for the first time in a competitive match on Monday.The former Greece international, who spent four years in England with Blackburn, Huddersfield and Sheffield United at the end of a playing career largely spent at Panathinaikos, was parachuted into the job in April after the sudden dismissal of Frenchman Hervé Renard, who led Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup that began with their victory over eventual champions Argentina.Donis has coached at four Saudi Pro League clubs so knows the players well, which seems to be why he got the job, and his priority will be to avoid embarrassment in a group that also includes Spain and Cape Verde.Representatives of the Saudi Football Federation are here in force as they look ahead to hosting the tournament in 2034, and while Mohammed bin Salman is not believed to have travelled after attending matches at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, the crown prince is likely to be monitoring matches closely.Saudi Arabia have not kept a clean sheet for eight games however, and scored only seven goals in their 10 qualifying matches, with Donis making no attempt to hide the scale of his challenge.“I feel our group is one of the toughest of the World Cup,” he said. “I’ve been training the team for 12 sessions in total. “The days were not enough, and everything happened so fast. “There’s a disadvantage in place. It’s not been long since we started training together, but the players have shown I can trust them. I believe in them and believe we will be very competitive. Regardless of what will happen in this tournament I’m building a team that will deliver success. I’m looking at the trees, not the forest.”Rather than the shock victory over Argentina, which was followed by defeats to Poland and Mexico and elimination at the group stage, Donis wants his players to seek inspiration from Saudi Arabia’s last tournament in the United States at the 1994 World Cup, when victories over Belgium and Morocco took them into the last 16 for the first and only time.“I’m very grateful to Saudi Arabia and consider it my second home,” he said. “Given I’ve been in Saudi Arabia for many years I’m aware of the history of football there. The best moment is undoubtedly when we made it to the round of 16, beating Belgium and Morocco.“It’s important the players draw inspiration from this achievement. The victory over Argentina shows that the current generation have drawn inspiration from the past, and we want to do the same.”