Kevin Pina opened the scoring with a stunning free kick to give Cape Verde its first-ever World Cup goal, and Hélio Varela — who came off the bench later leveled the match, underscoring why this underdog squad has become one of the biggest surprises of the expanded 48-team tournament and now has a real shot at reaching the knockout stage.
“This is something we owe to other smaller national teams,” coach Pedro Leitão Brito said through an interpreter, praising the resilience of nations that overcome financial and logistical challenges to compete at the highest level. The small West African island nation, with roughly 500,000 residents and only about 4,000 square kilometers of land, is the third-smallest country by population to ever qualify for the World Cup. Despite a large section of Miami Stadium rooting for Uruguay, Cape Verde’s players stayed composed. “Once you’re on the pitch, a lot of things become equal,” Leitão Brito added. Cape Verdeans celebrated after Pina’s 21st-minute strike beat diving goalkeeper Fernando Muslera for a 1-0 lead, following their shock goalless draw with Spain in the opening round. Uruguay responded with late first-half goals from Maxi Araújo and Agustín Canobbio, but Varela, making his first international goal shortly after entering, surprised Muslera to tie the match in the second half and celebrated atop his teammates’ shoulders. Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa, speaking through an interpreter, said the draw was deserved but lamented organizational errors that have left his side with an uphill battle to reach the knockout rounds. The match also highlighted Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, 40, who earned praise after another standout performance and had his mother in the stands for the first time this tournament; she had missed the Spain game due to visa issues. The game marked a rare World Cup milestone: both starting goalkeepers were over 40 Muslera turned 40 on June 16 and made his 18th World Cup appearance.
