Egypt vs Uruguay: 5 Talking Points, World Cup 2018
Final Score: Egypt 0-1 Uruguay
Goalscorers: Gimenez 90'
Jose Gimenez gave Uruguay a win in their opening World Cup game as his header was the difference between his side and Egypt.
Suarez and Cavani had their chances, but the only goal came from Atletico defender Gimenez in the 90th minute when he headed in from a free-kick.
Here are five talking points from the match:
#5 Uruguay win their opening World Cup game for the first time since 1970
For the first time since 1970, Uruguay today won their opening match at the World Cup, which is an incredible statistic considering they reached the semi-final in 2010.
They are strong favourites to win Group A, a group that includes themselves, Egypt, Russia and Saudi Arabia, and were before today’s match kicked off. But, they were not up to their best in their opening match.
Egypt had a game plan to defend for the most part, and force Uruguay to create chances for themselves. And it worked, as Uruguay failed to create many chances at all.
Luis Suarez missed a great opportunity in the first-half with the goalkeeper onrushing, as he flashed an effort into the side netting, but other than that the favourites created nothing in the opening half.
In the second half, they got better, with Edinson Cavani having a great volley saved by the Egyptian goalkeeper before he also hit the post from a free-kick.
Despite their below-par performance, they were able to grind out a result. With just a minute remaining of normal time, they got a free-kick by the corner flag on the right-hand side. Substitute Carlos Sanchez put in a delivery from a set-piece that had been missing all game, and Atletico defender Jose Gimenez rose highest to nod home and give his team that all important first win.