Darwin Nunez made his first appearance for Uruguay since March during their World Cup Group H match against Saudi Arabia on Monday night, highlighting the striker’s recent struggles. The 26-year-old forward, who formerly played for Liverpool, has faced a challenging period at Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal. Since the arrival of Karim Benzema, Nunez lost his foreign-player registration and was sidelined for the second half of the season. He has since terminated his contract and is reportedly considering a surprise return to the Premier League after only one year abroad.

Nunez’s lack of game time was evident as he was substituted at halftime in the 1-1 draw held in the United States. Uruguay, coached by Marcelo Bielsa, found it difficult to break down a well-organized Saudi defense, which took the lead shortly before halftime through Abdulelah Al Amri. Uruguay’s key midfielder, Real Madrid captain Federico Valverde, appeared off his usual form in the first half, reflecting the team’s struggles.

The second half saw a marked improvement from the South Americans, who dominated possession and created more scoring opportunities. Their persistence paid off in the 80th minute when Maxi Araujo netted the equalizer, beating Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais, who had been busy throughout the match. Valverde also showed a stronger display after the break and came close to securing a late winner for Uruguay, but was unsuccessful.

Uruguay is set to return to Miami to face Cape Verde on Sunday. Cape Verde’s recent draw with Spain has left the group standings unsettled. Saudi Arabia’s officials expressed the view that a stronger result for them would have been if Spain, the European champions, had won their match outright. However, Saudi defender Nawaf Al-Boushail dismissed the significance of Spain’s performance, emphasizing that their team’s focus remains solely on their upcoming fixture against the Spaniards.

“Honestly, the focus was all on us. We aren’t bothered about the other results,” said the 26-year-old right-back, underscoring Saudi Arabia’s determination to approach their next challenge independently of other outcomes in the group.