28 min “We were due one, I suppose,” says James Humphries. “But my word, this is pish.”

26 min The football resumes. Pure and naive soul that I am, I hadn’t realised there’s a reason why all the drinks breaks at this World Cup last three minutes.

23 min I’ve never looked forward to a hydration break so much in all my life. That was such an uneventful first quarter of the game, an accidental homage to the Disgrace of Gijon in 1982.

22 min “My goodness, that Miami song, if it can be called such, is awful!” writes Duncan McQueen. This would have been a far better choice. Keep up the good work with the MBM though (music choice notwithstanding)

That’s one of my favourite songs of the year! But it doesn’t matter, because there’s only one winner.

20 min Uruguay enquire for a penalty when a snapshot from Caceres, upfield for a free-kick, hits the hand of Tambakti.

Tambatki’s arm was by his side so there’s nothing to see here.

18 min Al-Dawsari intercepts a chipped pass from the keeper Muslera, exchanges passes with Al-Juwayr and tries his luck from 25 yards. Well wide but it was worth a try.

17 min Araujo’s shot aside, it’s been one big stalemate so far. I’m sure it will liven up, but for now the only thing to say is that Uruguay’s home kit might be their best since Italia 90.

13 min Lots of possession for Saudi Arabia in the last few minutes, most of it in their own half.

12 min “With Fede Valverde playing for Uruguay, there’ll be something worth watching in this one,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “He’ll probably either score an outrageous first-half hat-trick or kick Bielsa’s bucket from under him as he gets subbed early. Hopefully, Uruguay will progress to a knockout meeting with France, where Real Madrid ‘teammates’ Valverde and Tchouaméni can really express how they feel about each other.”

11 min Uruguay are picking their moments to press. Not even Marcelo Bielsea would expect his players to stay in top gear in this oppressive heat.

9 min “Counterfactual history is the last refuge of the nerd,” boasts Kári Tulinius, “but I can’t help but wonder what a meeting between Saudi Arabia and Uruguay at the 1986 World Cup would’ve been like, when both were continental champions, which they would defend. It’s Saudi Arabia’s golden age of football, and though it’s not Uruguay’s, they had a serious team.

“The Green Falcons did well in the Afro-Asiatic Cup against Cameroon in 1985, so they’d probably have given the South Americans a proper game. Anyway, they didn’t meet until early this century, so we’ll never know. Anyway, yes, football nerdery is a lonely pursuit.”

I’d love to know whether Uruguay – who were one of the pre-tournament favourites in 1986 – set out to violate everything that moved or whether their approach just evolved that way. They were South American champions, as you say, although I’ve just scanned their results from 1983-86 and it looks like they’d lost their way before the World Cup started.

6 min Araujo’s outswinging corner from the left is headed down at the far post and collected by Al-Owais.

5 min Vinha’s sharp low ball from the left is collected on the edge of the area by Araujo, who spins and whacks a left-foot shot that is pushed away a little awkwardly by Al-Owais. He kept it out, that’s the main thing.

3 min A quiet start, nothing to see yet.

2 min The Saudi Arabia attack is led by Salem al-Dawsari, who scored the winner in their astounding win over Argentina four years ago.

1 min Saudi Arabia kick off from left to right as we watch. The match is only four minutes behind schedule, so you can all go chill, relax.

Today’s match is in M-I-A-M-I

“I’m hoping for a chaotic game,” writes Andrew Goudie, “with Núñez supplying most of the havoc. I’m also enjoying Duncan Ferguson’s punditry on ITV.”

Big Dunc is so likeable. His evolution from Throat Man to cuddly next-door neighbour makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Uruguay’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.”

You can read the full report below.