Cape Verde's magical start to its first World Cup isn't over. 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.
Kevin Pina scored on a free kick 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 teams of the expanded 48-team tournament — a club 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 Leitão Brito said through an interpreter, adding his entire squad believes it can continue its historic play 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 kilometers 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 Verdean players seemed undaunted.
“Once you’re on the pitch, a lot of things become equal,” Leitão Brito said.
Cape Verdean fans who watched their squad pull off one of the stunners 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 diving goalie Fernando Muslera for a 1-0 lead in the 21st.
Maxi Araújo and Agustin Canobbio scored late first-half goals to put Uruguay ahead. 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 for a tying empty-net goal and his first international score.
“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,” coach Marcelo Bielsa said afterward through an interpreter.
Uruguay 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. La Celeste 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 driver,” Bielsa added. “What I mean by that is the head coach. ... There is no magical recipe whatsoever to fix them. It goes without saying we paid a very high cost for those mistakes.”
It was another special moment for Cape Verde's Vozinha, who became one of the tournament's breakout stars after shutting down Spain. The 40-year-old goalie had his mother in the stands for Sunday's match; she was unable to attend Cape Verde’s opening draw against Spain because she couldn’t obtain a visa.
It was also the first World Cup match with two starting goalies aged 40-plus. Muslera, who made his 18th World Cup appearance, turned 40 on June 16.
Vozinha waved at the crowd after the final whistle as his teammates ran to a section of Cape Verdean fans, who cheered and danced on their way out of the stadium as if they were celebrating a victory.
“You show up, you believe, and we work very hard as a team,” said Cape Verde defender Stopira. “I think all the world can see we play, we play very good, and we also have quality in the team. So now it’s on to the next game, and to try to reach the next one.”
