Uruguay edged out Egypt 1-0 at the Yekaterinburg Arena earlier in the day, with defender Jose Maria Gimenez scoring the winner with a minute to go.

"We are extremely happy that we played well against tough opponents. The first match is always tough... It is an important win and it feels good to get it in such a difficult and challenging match... I would like to thank all the fans for their support," Godin told journalists.

The 2018 World Cup kicked off on Thursday and will continue until 15 July, with the matches set to be played in 11 Russian cities.

Egypt will next play Russia on Tuesday and Saudi Arabia on 25 June in their remaining two Group A matches.