Uruguay dominated throughout the match but struggled to convert before Gimenez broke the deadlock with a minute to go, as Egypt's star striker Mohamed Salah watched his side lose the game from the bench.
Uruguay is now second in their Group A behind hosts Russia, who thrashed Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the opening match of the tournament on Thursday.
🇺🇾 @Uruguay and @LuisSuarez9 have got off to a winning start at #BarçaWorldCup against Egypt. The Barça striker came close several times, but it was Gimenez who finally broke the deadlock in the 89th minute pic.twitter.com/rRbkbbiwwV
The FIFA World Cup Group A game between Uruguay and Egypt was attended by a total of 27,015 spectators. The game was held at the 33,000-seater Yekaterinburg Arena on Friday, with Uruguay edging Egypt 1-0.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday and will continue through July 15, with a total of 64 matches set to be played at 12 stadiums across 11 Russian cities.