Cape Verde pull off second stunning World Cup upset as Uruguay held to dramatic draw
Cape Verde pull off second stunning World Cup upset as Uruguay held to dramatic draw
Lawrence OstlereMon, June 22, 2026 at 12:17 AM UTC
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Cape Verde players celebrate Kevin Pina's free-kick to open the scoring (Getty)
Cape Verde pulled off another stunning shock at the 2026 World Cup as they held Uruguay to a dramatic 2-2 draw in Miami.
The team had already produced a remarkable 0-0 draw with European champions Spain in their opening game, and they added another point to their tally as they took advantage of mistakes in Uruguay's defensive line.
The tournament debutants went toe-to-toe with the South American heavyweights in an entertaining end-to-end game.
Cape Verde took the lead in the 21st minute after Telmo Arcanjo earned a free kick following a blistering run and Kevin Pina stepped up to drill home a low shot from 30 yards out for his country's first ever goal at the World Cup finals.
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Uruguay turned things around before half-time, however, when Maxi Araujo pounced on a rebound to equalise with a header before he set up Agustin Canobbio with another header to make it 2-1 at the break.
Cape Verde substitute Helio Varela struck two minutes after coming on in the second half when he pounced on Mathias Olivera's loose back pass in no man's land, drawing the goalkeeper off his line to fire into an empty net.
Helio Varela is mobbed by teammates after scoring for Cape Verde (Getty)
Both teams are on two points behind group leaders Spain, who have four points heading into the final round of games.
additional reporting by Reuters
Source: “AOL Sports”
