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Cabo Verde once again demonstrated why it is the revelation of the 2026 World Cup: this Sunday, it drew 2-2 with Uruguay at the and has already accumulated two points in its historic debut in a World Cup, tying on points with La Celeste.
The match started with an early surprise. K. Lenini opened the scoring in the 21st minute for the Africans, who challenged a Uruguay team that had more possession but lacked clarity in the area. The Charrúa response came in the final moments of the first half: M. Araujo equalized in the 44th minute, and A. Canobbio turned the score around in the 45th, leaving it 2-1 at halftime.
The second half changed script with the substitutions from the Cape Verde bench. In the 58th minute, the coach made two simultaneous substitutions, and just three minutes later, the newly entered H. Varela scored to make it 2-2 with a goal that shook the stadium.
Uruguay tried to regain the lead, but the VAR denied Araujo a third goal in the 68th minute for offside. The substitutions of Darwin Núñez and Nicolás de la Cruz in the 70th minute could not break the African resistance, and the score remained unchanged until the final whistle.
The statistics reflect Uruguay's dominance without reward: 66% possession, 16 shots and 11 corners compared to Cape Verde's seven shots and three corners. However, both teams ended with two shots on target, highlighting the effectiveness of the islanders against their opponent's inaccuracy.
With this result, stands with Spain in the lead with four points following their 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia on the same day. Uruguay and Cape Verde share the second and third positions with two points each, while Saudi Arabia is nearly eliminated with one point.
Cabo Verde is currently ranked as the best third-place team, keeping their chances of qualifying for the round of 16 alive. For the African team, which made their World Cup debut with a 0-0 draw against Spain on June 15, accumulating four points in two matches without a loss would have been unthinkable before the tournament.
The last matchday of Group H will take place on June 26: Cape Verde will face Saudi Arabia at NRG Stadium in Houston, while Uruguay will seek qualification against Spain at Akron Stadium.
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