A stoppage time header from defender Radhi Jaidi earned Tunisia a 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia after a thrilling finish to their World Cup Group H opener on Wednesday.
Saudi substitute Sami Al Jaber scored in the 84th minute to put his team 2-1 ahead and seemingly on their way to a comeback win in the all-Arab clash. Al Jaber scored two minutes after coming on as a substitute.
The Tunisians led at halftime thanks to a Ziad Jaziri strike after 23 minutes. But after dominating the opening period, they lost their way and Saudi Arabia came back strongly in the second half, Yasser Al Qahtani levelling in the 57th minute.
Tunisia had dominated from the start and were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty after only two minutes and almost scored after eight minutes. The Saudis produced a few counter-attacks and forced a flurry of corners, but they fell behind in the 23rd minute.Timothy Collings