In brief
- Spain have been held to a goalless draw by minnows Cape Verde.
- Belgium and Egypt finished their opener 1-1 in Seattle.
Despite dominating possession, Uruguay had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia in the sweltering heat of Miami on Tuesday AEST, leaving an intriguing Group H wide open.
The stalemate came hours after one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history when European champions Spain were held 0-0 by debutants Cape Verde in the same group.
Saudi centre back Abdulelah al-Amri's opener for the Gulf nation was cancelled out by Maxi Araujo in a game where both sides profited from goalkeeping errors.
The first half was dominated by Uruguay but Saudi Arabia took the lead against the run of play in the 41st minute when Fernando Muslera made a costly error on a set-piece, parrying the ball into the path of al-Amri who poked the ball past the veteran keeper.
Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay though had the first chance of the game when Araujo stung the palms of Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais after five minutes.
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In evening temperatures of more than 30C and energy-sapping humidity, both teams struggled to create much in front of goal early on.
After a toothless first period, Bielsa had seen enough, dragging off defender Matias Vina and anonymous former Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez. Winger Agustin Canobbio and left-sided Juan Manuel Sanabria were introduced.
The double substitution sparked Uruguay — who surprisingly did not play a single World Cup warm-up game — into action in the second half.
The majority of the second period was played in Saudi Arabia's half as Uruguay — World Cup winners in 1930 and 1950 — frantically searched for an equaliser and their persistence paid off when al-Owais also made an error when a save fell nicely for Araujo to fire home.
The draw leaves Group H finely poised after the first round of games, with all four teams on one point each.
Meanwhile, Iran are prepared to make their long-awaited entrance at the tournament at 11am AEST against against New Zealand after a build-up engulfed by uncertainty over the Middle East conflict.
Belgium and Egypt draw 1-1
Egypt's hopes of a first-ever World Cup win were dashed by an own goal from defender Mohamed Hany in a 1-1 draw with Belgium in their Group G opener on Tuesday.
Egypt took the lead in the 19th minute through a powerful strike from outside the box by midfielder Emam Ashour, his first international goal.
Belgium pressed for an equaliser in the second half before the introduction of Romelu Lukaku in the 66th minute. A little more than 20 seconds later, Hany diverted a cross into his own net under pressure from the big striker.
With the draw, seven-time Africa Cup of Nations champions Egypt's wait for a first victory at a World Cup goes on.
This is their fourth participation in the global showpiece and with Group G fixtures to come against Iran and New Zealand, they will hope to break that hoodoo in North America.
For Belgium, this tournament is likely the last chance for the remnants of their golden generation to better their third-placed finish in Russia eight years ago and finally win silverware.
Tiny Cape Verde hold Spain to a 0-0 draw
European champions Spain were held to a shock 0-0 draw by World Cup debutants Cape Verde as the ghosts of their recent World Cup horror shows reappeared in Atlanta on Tuesday AEST.
Spain, regarded as one of the strong pre-tournament favourites, had been expected to cruise past Cape Verde in their Group H opener.
But despite enjoying 74 percent possession and laying siege to the Cape Verde goal, the 2010 world champions were unable to find a breakthrough against the underdogs from the African volcanic archipelago of just 525,000 people.
Cape Verde's players and supporters celebrated wildly after securing an improbable point in what was their first-ever World Cup match.
The underdogs, nicknamed the Blue Sharks, had never qualified for the World Cup but were boosted in their bid to reach the finals after FIFA expanded the tournament to 48 teams.
In stark contrast to the searing temperatures faced by some other sides, Atlanta's state-of-the-art air-conditioned stadium meant there were no excuses for the slow tempo of Spain's build-up.
It took until six minutes before half-time for Spain to seriously threaten.
Marc Cucurella, fresh for sealing his move from Chelsea to Real Madrid, sent over a teasing cross that Ferran Torres turned onto the crossbar and Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha got back on his feet to turn Mikel Oyarzabal's looping header over the bar.
Torres tested Vozinha again moments later before Aymeric Laporte's header from a corner was also clawed away by the Cape Verde number one just before half-time.
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The break came at a good time for the Blue Sharks and they comfortably held out in the second period until Lamine Yamal's entrance after the second hydration break.
Billed as one of the stars of the tournament, the 18-year-old's appearance instantly lifted the crowd and injected life into the pedestrian Spanish attack.
His first involvement set up a decent opening for fellow substitute Mikel Merino which was too close to Vozinha.
Yamal also began the move that saw Oyarzabal's effort deflected over with Spain's best chance of the second half.
Cape Verde nearly snatched a famous victory in the final minute of the 90 when Dani Borges planted a header too close to Unai Simon.
But even without a winner, 40-year-old Vozinha was reduced to tears at full-time as Cape Verde produced the biggest shock of the tournament so far.
"I've worked all my life for this, for this moment, for this dream," said Vozinha, who plays for Chaves in the Portuguese second division.
"A lot of generations in the past dreamed of this, they didn't achieve it," he added. "The dream came true, for all of us."
Spain's road to victory in 2010 also began disappointingly with a defeat to Switzerland, but they have much to work on ahead of their match against Saudi Arabia in Atlanta once more on Monday.
Cape Verde next take on Uruguay in Miami.
— With reporting by Agence France-Presse and Reuters news agencies.
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