1st World Cup goal, another point: Cape Verde's fairytale rolls on with Uruguay draw
Cape Verde's fairytale got a new chapter as the African side scored their first World Cup goal and secured another point with a 2-2 draw against Uruguay.
Cape Verde has been the fairytale story of FIFA World Cup 2026. That story added a new chapter to it as the African team scored their first World Cup goal and secured another point against former World Champions with their 2-2 draw against Uruguay. On a day when everyone expected Cape Verde's defence to be the main attraction, it was actually their attack that got them the draw.
Kevin Pina handed the lead for Cape Verde in the 21st minute before Maxi Araujo and Agustin Canobbio handed the initiative to Uruguay just before half-time. But Helio Varela made himself the Cape Verde hero as he capitalised on a horrific error from the Uruguayan defence to score in the 61st minute. The final 10 minutes saw both teams threaten to score the winner but Cape Verde return back home with a valuable point.
FIFA WORLD CUP 2026, URUGUAY VS CAPE VERDE HIGHLIGHTS
CAPE VERDE SHOW A DIFFERENT SIDE
In the match against Spain, Cape Verde showed their steel at the back. The presence of Pico Lopez, Sidny Lopes Cabral and Diney was enough to upset the European champions Spain. Adding to this was Vozinha's heroics, which made him a social media sensation.
The 40-year-old finally got to play in front of his mother, who finally made it to the US after clearing the visa issues. The start was almost like the Spain match. Cape Verde sitting back and showing the respect to their opponents.
But on Sunday, the African team showed that their attacking might is as good as anyone in the tournament. The game started with Uruguay dictating terms, putting all the pressure on Cape Verde. But this was a position that they were very familiar with.
Till the 13th minute, Cape Verde were happy to defend, and then they made a rare foray in attack. Seven minutes later, Cape Verde got a free-kick, which did seem like a bit too far away. Pina didn't get the memo and he unleashed a shot the great Roberto Carlos would have been proud of. The Uruguayan wall disintegrated and allowed the ball to go past it and leave Muslera helpless.
After this moment, it was back to battle stations in defence for Cape Verde as they didn't allow Uruguay to get any momentum. The tactic was simply to attack on the counter and plug in all the holes and frustrate Uruguay.
However, the resistance had a brief moment of distraction, which Uruguay used to punish the Blue Sharks. First, Muslera's ball into the box made its way to the player, whose shot came off the post and bounced up easily for Araujo.
The winger got the equaliser to put a dagger in the hearts of the Cape Verde fans. Soon, it was a 2-1 as a similar long ball into the box was headed into the path of Canobbio, who made it 2-1 just before the break.
After the break, the tardiness from Cape Verde continued as Vozinha's distribution was poor, usually allowing Uruguay to launch another attack on them.
At this point, Cape Verde made a double change as Nuno Da Costa and Helio Varela came on.
CAPE VERDE'S ATTACK STEPS UP
The changes brought in a new energy for both teams, with Cape Verde pressing Uruguay more and forcing them into errors. One such instance led to their equaliser as Matheus Oliviera made a poor judgement and allowed the ball to go to Varela.
Then, Muslera came out of his line to clear the ball and it allowed the Cape Verde forward to round him off and make things 2-2. Cape Verde had a chance to make it 3-2, but Monteiro's shot was well above everyone else.
This put some life into Uruguay, as they made the changes and had a goal disallowed. The response was sudden and Uruguay thought they had gone ahead once more. But VAR intervened and ruled it out. Both teams kept the tempo high as we entered into the final 10 minutes with the game in the balance .
Vozinha had an indifferent day and almost allowed Uruguay to get the winner in the 86th minute, when he spilled the inside the box and it almost allowed Uruguay to pounce.
The last few minutes of stoppage time saw both teams create chances, with Cape Verde complaining they should have been allowed to take the free-kick. But they won't complain as the performance got them closer to qualification for the knockout phases.
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Cape Verde has been the fairytale story of FIFA World Cup 2026. That story added a new chapter to it as the African team scored their first World Cup goal and secured another point against former World Champions with their 2-2 draw against Uruguay. On a day when everyone expected Cape Verde's defence to be the main attraction, it was actually their attack that got them the draw.
Kevin Pina handed the lead for Cape Verde in the 21st minute before Maxi Araujo and Agustin Canobbio handed the initiative to Uruguay just before half-time. But Helio Varela made himself the Cape Verde hero as he capitalised on a horrific error from the Uruguayan defence to score in the 61st minute. The final 10 minutes saw both teams threaten to score the winner but Cape Verde return back home with a valuable point.
FIFA WORLD CUP 2026, URUGUAY VS CAPE VERDE HIGHLIGHTS
CAPE VERDE SHOW A DIFFERENT SIDE
In the match against Spain, Cape Verde showed their steel at the back. The presence of Pico Lopez, Sidny Lopes Cabral and Diney was enough to upset the European champions Spain. Adding to this was Vozinha's heroics, which made him a social media sensation.
The 40-year-old finally got to play in front of his mother, who finally made it to the US after clearing the visa issues. The start was almost like the Spain match. Cape Verde sitting back and showing the respect to their opponents.
But on Sunday, the African team showed that their attacking might is as good as anyone in the tournament. The game started with Uruguay dictating terms, putting all the pressure on Cape Verde. But this was a position that they were very familiar with.
Till the 13th minute, Cape Verde were happy to defend, and then they made a rare foray in attack. Seven minutes later, Cape Verde got a free-kick, which did seem like a bit too far away. Pina didn't get the memo and he unleashed a shot the great Roberto Carlos would have been proud of. The Uruguayan wall disintegrated and allowed the ball to go past it and leave Muslera helpless.
After this moment, it was back to battle stations in defence for Cape Verde as they didn't allow Uruguay to get any momentum. The tactic was simply to attack on the counter and plug in all the holes and frustrate Uruguay.
However, the resistance had a brief moment of distraction, which Uruguay used to punish the Blue Sharks. First, Muslera's ball into the box made its way to the player, whose shot came off the post and bounced up easily for Araujo.
The winger got the equaliser to put a dagger in the hearts of the Cape Verde fans. Soon, it was a 2-1 as a similar long ball into the box was headed into the path of Canobbio, who made it 2-1 just before the break.
After the break, the tardiness from Cape Verde continued as Vozinha's distribution was poor, usually allowing Uruguay to launch another attack on them.
At this point, Cape Verde made a double change as Nuno Da Costa and Helio Varela came on.
CAPE VERDE'S ATTACK STEPS UP
The changes brought in a new energy for both teams, with Cape Verde pressing Uruguay more and forcing them into errors. One such instance led to their equaliser as Matheus Oliviera made a poor judgement and allowed the ball to go to Varela.
Then, Muslera came out of his line to clear the ball and it allowed the Cape Verde forward to round him off and make things 2-2. Cape Verde had a chance to make it 3-2, but Monteiro's shot was well above everyone else.
This put some life into Uruguay, as they made the changes and had a goal disallowed. The response was sudden and Uruguay thought they had gone ahead once more. But VAR intervened and ruled it out. Both teams kept the tempo high as we entered into the final 10 minutes with the game in the balance .
Vozinha had an indifferent day and almost allowed Uruguay to get the winner in the 86th minute, when he spilled the inside the box and it almost allowed Uruguay to pounce.
The last few minutes of stoppage time saw both teams create chances, with Cape Verde complaining they should have been allowed to take the free-kick. But they won't complain as the performance got them closer to qualification for the knockout phases.
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