'Dark Horse' Cape Verde Secures Another Point in Draw Against Uruguay

Cape Verde, the "Cinderella" story of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America, continued its impressive run by securing a point against Uruguay, the inaugural World Cup champions.

Cape Verde drew 2-2 with Uruguay in their Group H second match of the 2026 World Cup, held at Miami Stadium in Miami, Florida, on Monday (June 22).

Having already earned a point in their first match against the "Invincible Armada" Spain with a 0-0 draw, bolstered by the saves of goalkeeper Vozinha, Cape Verde delivered another strong performance against Uruguay.

With 2 points (2 draws, 2 goals scored), Cape Verde sits in third place in Group H, behind Uruguay (2 points, 3 goals scored).

For Cape Verde, which is making its first-ever appearance in the World Cup finals, a point in their final group stage match against Saudi Arabia on June 27 could keep their hopes of advancing to the knockout stage alive.

The mother of 40-year-old Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, who became a national hero after his series of saves against Spain, received a U.S. visa and watched the match in person.

With the eyes of the world on the match, Cape Verde showed that they were not intimidated by Uruguay.

Uruguay is ranked 19th in the FIFA rankings, while Cape Verde is 63rd.

Cape Verde opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Kevin Pina struck a surprise long-range shot from a free kick in the center of the box.

The Uruguayan defense, not expecting a direct shot, failed to set up a proper wall, and Pina successfully scored with a powerful right-footed strike.

It was the first goal in Cape Verde's World Cup history.

Stung by the goal, Uruguay launched a counterattack.

In the 44th minute, after Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha dove to block an initial shot, Maximiliano Araujo rushed in to score with a diving header.

Just before the end of first-half stoppage time, Agustin Canobbio capitalized on a header flicked on by Araujo to turn the game around, making it 2-1.

It seemed as though Cape Verde's "fairytale" might be coming to an end, but the players from the small African island nation did not give up.

In the 16th minute of the second half, Uruguay's Guillermo Varela committed a fatal back-pass error, and goalkeeper Fernando Muslera recklessly rushed out of his goal.

Seizing the opportunity, Helio Varela calmly dribbled past Muslera and slotted the ball into the empty net to equalize at 2-2.

After the equalizer, Cape Verde took control of the match.

In the 18th minute of the second half, a long-range shot by Jamiro Monteiro narrowly sailed over the crossbar, and in the 31st minute, a header by Roberto Lopes narrowly missed the goal.

Both teams engaged in a back-and-forth battle until the end of second-half stoppage time, ultimately drawing and sharing one point each.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.