After the false start against Saudi Arabia, Uruguay made the next mistake against Cape Verde. The outsider impressed with a dream goal and now has the best chance of making it to the knockout rounds.
At 2:2 (2:1) in Miami, the fans of the volcanic archipelago initially cheered: Kevin Pina scored with a direct free kick to make it 1-0 (21st), before Maxi Araújo (44th) and Agustin Cannobio (45th + 6th) turned the game around before the break. After an hour, Cape Verde equalized again, joker Hélio Varela took advantage of a mistake by the two-time world champion to make it 2-2 (61st).
This means that Uruguay is in danger of being eliminated from the World Cup before the last group game against Spain. With only two points from the first two games, there needs to be a clear improvement in performance against the European champions.
The caricature of a wall
Uruguay started the important game with a serious mishap and grossly underestimated an opposing free kick. After Uruguay midfielder Rodrigo Betancur was only able to stop Telmo Arcanjo’s dribble with a clumsy foul, Pina placed the ball 30 meters centrally in front of Fernando Muslera’s goal.
Pina’s free kick in the 21st minute
The keeper thought a two-man wall was sufficient, but when Pina started running, the two Uruguayans Federico Vinas and Maxi Araújo broke up this mini-group. Araújo, who was on the left, fled to the left and Vinas, who was on the right, fled to the right. Pina consequently aimed for the middle, hit the ball superbly with the full instep and caught Muslera ice-cold with his cracker into the bottom right corner.
Cape Verde can even make it 2-0
During the cheers that followed, one had to briefly worry about the sensational goalscorer, as he received so many well-intentioned hits from his colleagues. But Pina survived the hearty caresses, and Cape Verde used the momentum to launch further promising counterattacks.
Cape Verde’s Kevin Pina celebrates with his teammates after his goal to make it 1-0
The Uruguayans repeatedly expressed the invitation to do so through sometimes outrageous bad passes in the build-up, but Cape Verde missed the opportunity to add the second goal due to inaccuracies and a little too much love for the ball.
Two goals shortly before half-time turned the game around
The receipt was given shortly before the break, and the equalizer also had a strange lead-up. Telmo Arcanjo from Cape Verde was apparently on the ground in midfield with cramps, while Uruguayan Vinas provided first aid. But when the striker saw that his team was on the counterattack, he simply left Arcanjo there and took part in the attack. It was also unfortunate for the extreme outsider: defender Lopes Cabral headed the ball onto his own inside post while trying to clear the ball, meaning keeper Vozinha had no chance and could only watch as Araújo headed in from five meters out.
Uruguay’s Agustín Canobbio and Maximiliano Araujo celebrate the equalizer
Afterwards, Uruguay did what Cape Verde had failed to do after the 1-0 win: go after an opponent who had been knocked out. Araújo was also involved in the third goal of the evening. The left winger headed the ball perfectly across the six-yard box and took advantage of the Cape Verde defender Diney Borges leaving too much distance to Canobbio – who pushed the ball over the line from close range.
Error from Olivera and close Offside decision
After the break, Uruguay’s dominance became even more pressing, with the distribution of ball possession being 67 to 33 percent. But after a quarter of an hour of missed opportunities, Mathias Olivera brought Cape Verde back into the game. In front of his own penalty area he played a high cross pass into no man’s land, Muslera ran out of his goal to clear the scene. But the keeper was clearly too late against Hélio Varela, who had been substituted just two minutes earlier, who picked up the bad pass, juggled past the keeper and fired it into the empty goal from 20 meters.
Uruguay then applied constant pressure and Cape Verde had little relief. In the 68th minute, the favorites’ fans cheered for a short time because Araújo put the ball into the Cape Verde goal after a corner and a mistake by Vozinha. But the linesman raised the flag, the scene was examined for a long time and the goal was ultimately not awarded because the corner taker was played again and was marginally offside.
In the last 20 minutes, legendary striker Luis Suarez watched from the stands as his compatriots down on the pitch simply couldn’t find a solution. Real Madrid star Federico Valverde hit a free kick just over the goal in the 89th minute, and in stoppage time Cannobio negligently missed a huge counterattack opportunity. In the last five minutes, Cape Verde increased the pace again and in the end was even closer to 3-2 than Uruguay.
Uruguay now under high pressure against Spain
Uruguay and Cape Verde each have two points, putting them between Spain (four points) and Saudi Arabia (one point). Uruguay is under the greatest pressure against Spain on Saturday (2 a.m. CEST) in the Guadalajara Stadium in Zapopan and needs at least one point. Cape Verde meets Saudi Arabia in Houston at the same time and has all the trump cards for the round of 16 in this duel.
