Cape Verde’s magical start to its first World Cup isn’t over. In fact, it might just be getting started.
The tiny island nation that stunned tournament favorite Spain last week did it again against Uruguay — a two-time World Cup champion — on Sunday, coming from behind for a 2-2 draw at the Miami Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Kevin Pina scored on a freekick for Cape Verde’s first-ever goal in the World Cup, and Helio Varela scored the equalizer for what has become one of the most surprising sides of the expanded 48-team tournament — a side now with a legitimate chance of getting into the knockout stage.
“This is something we owe to other smaller national teams — teams that struggled to qualify for a world tournament,” Cape Verde coach Pedro Leitao Brito said, adding that his entire squad believes it can continue its historic run and reach the knockout stage.
Cape Verde, which has two points in Group H along with Uruguay, faces Saudi Arabia in its final group match.
“We’re also here to show that a country may be small, may struggle financially,” he added, “but if they are resilient, if they can endure struggle, they can also stand shoulder to shoulder with other major teams and with players who are on another level.”
The group of islands off Africa’s west coast have about 4,000 square meters (about 2.5 miles) of landmass and approximately a half million inhabitants, making Cape Verde the third-smallest nation by population to qualify for the World Cup.
Even as a large number of fans at Miami Stadium chanted for Uruguay throughout Sunday’s match, Cape Verde’s players seemed undaunted. “Once you’re on the pitch, a lot of things become equal,” Leitao Brito said.
Cape Verde’s fans who watched their squad pull off one of the stunning results of the tournament last week by holding Spain to a scoreless draw, continued their celebrations when Pina split Uruguay’s wall and blasted a strike past a diving Fernando Muslera to take a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute.
Late first-half goals from Maximiliano Araujo and Agustin Canobbio put Uruguay ahead going into halftime, but Varela, minutes after coming into the game in the second half, took advantage of a bad pass by Mathias Olivera and caught Muslera way off his line to fire the tying goal, and his first international score, into an empty net.
“I had dreamed of this,” Varela said in a quote distributed by FIFA, “but I never imagined it would happen this way. Scoring my first goal for the national team on my World Cup debut is incredible. I have no words.”
Varela celebrated by hopping into his teammates’ arms and flexing atop their shoulders as Muslera and other Uruguay players dropped their heads in disappointment.
“The result, I think, was quite deserved,” Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa said afterward.
La Celeste failed to capitalize on numerous late chances to take the lead, and settled for its second draw after a 1-1 finish against Saudi Arabia in its opener. Bielsa’s men next face Spain in their group stage finale, needing a positive result to have a chance at advancing.
“The organizational mistakes that were made — that a squad makes — they always fall upon the (head coach),” Bielsa added. “There is no magical recipe to fix them. It goes without saying we paid a very high price for those mistakes.”
It was another special moment for Cape Verde’s Vozinha, who became one of the tournament’s breakout stars after shutting out Spain. The 40-year-old goalie had his mother in the stands for Sunday’s match; she was unable to attend Cape Verde’s opener against Spain because she couldn’t obtain a United States visa.
It was also the first World Cup match where both starting keepers were over the age of 40, after Muslera, making his 18th World Cup appearance, hit the milestone on June 16.
Vozinha waved to the stands after the final whistle, as his teammates ran to a section of Cape Verde fans, who cheered and danced as if they were celebrating a victory.
“You show up, you believe, and we work very hard as a team,” said aptly named Blue Sharks defender Stopira. “I think all the world can see we play very well, and we also have quality in the team. So, now, it’s on to the next game, and to try to reach the next stage.”
AP
