Cape Verde’s Surprising Run Continues in World Cup

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Cape Verde is making headlines with its impressive performance in its debut World Cup. The small island nation secured another significant result, drawing 2-2 against Uruguay, a country that has won the World Cup twice. This follows their surprising draw with tournament favorite Spain.

Kevin Pina opened the scoring for Cape Verde, netting the team’s first-ever World Cup goal with a free kick. Later, Helio Varela equalized, securing a valuable point for the team, which now holds a chance of advancing to the knockout stages of the expanded 48-team tournament.

This is something we owe to other smaller national teams — teams that struggled to qualify for a world tournament, said Cape Verde coach Pedro Leitão Brito through an interpreter.

Cape Verde shares Group H with Uruguay, both having two points. Their next match against Saudi Arabia will be crucial for their chances of progressing.

The African island nation covers about 4,000 square kilometers, with a population of half a million, making it the third-smallest by population to ever qualify for the World Cup. Despite Uruguay receiving significant fan support at Miami Stadium, Cape Verde’s players remained focused.

Leitão Brito emphasized, Once you’re on the pitch, a lot of things become equal.

In the match, Cape Verde led after Pina’s strike, but Uruguay responded with goals from Maxi Araújo and Agustin Canobbio in the first half. Varela’s late equalizer came after a defensive error by Mathias Olivera, earning him his first international goal.

Varela expressed his disbelief at the achievement, stating, I had dreamed of this, but I never imagined it would happen this way.

Celebrations ensued as Varela joined his teammates in shared jubilation, while Uruguay reflected on missed opportunities to take the lead.

Uruguay’s coach, Marcelo Bielsa, acknowledged his team’s mistakes, stating, The organizational mistakes that were made … they always fall upon the driver, referring to himself. Uruguay must secure a positive result against Spain in their final group match to advance.

Goalkeeper Vozinha has been a standout performer for Cape Verde, having also kept Spain at bay. His mother, present at the Uruguay match, missed the Spain match due to visa issues. The match featured two starting goalies aged 40-plus, including Fernando Muslera, who turned 40 recently.

Post-match, Vozinha waved to the crowd, celebrating with Cape Verdean fans who exited the stadium in high spirits.

We play very good, and we also have quality in the team, said defender Stopira, eager for the next challenge.