It took nearly 90 minutes, but Uruguay finally got a goal and defeated a stubborn Egypt team, 1-0, in Ekaterinburg on Friday. A header off a free kick by defender Jose Maria Giminez was the difference after Uruguay’s bigger stars, Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez, squandered several chances.
Egypt played without its own star, Mohamed Salah, who was nursing a shoulder injury yet had been expected to play.
From the opening whistle it was Uruguay that attacked, while Egypt sat back and seemed content with a possible 0-0 draw. The stingy defense frustrated Uruguay, but a few chances came in the first half, notably a shot by a close-in Suarez that went just wide.