In a lively game in Group H, Uruguay and Cape Verde drew 2-2 this Sunday (21), at Miami Stadium, in the second round of the World Cup.
The match reinforced the good performance of the African team, making their debut at the World Cup, after also drawing with Spain in the first round.
With the result, Uruguay and goalkeeper Vozinha’s team share second place in the group, with 2 points each, and reach the last round with a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. Saudi Arabia is at the bottom of the group, with 1 point.
The result complicates the situation of the Uruguayan team in the tournament. In the last round, which will be on Friday (26), Marcelo Bielsa’s team will face the favorite Spain, leader of the group, with 4 points. Cape Verde will play against Saudi Arabia.
Both matches will be played at 9pm.
The game started with Uruguay dominating. The South American team bet mainly on plays on the right side, with Canobbio. The striker, who plays for Fluminense, replaced Darwin Núñez in the starting lineup after performing well against Saudi Arabia.
Uruguay also bet on game changes. It was like this that, in the 14th minute, Canobbio advanced from the right and reversed the play for Valverde, who arrived free in the area. He, however, finished poorly, to the right of Vozinha’s goal.
Uruguay had more ball possession, with a higher defensive line. Cape Verde, more defensive, bet on counterattacks and found spaces due to the configuration of Marcelo Bielsa’s team.
In the 20th minute, right-winger Telmo Arcanjo dribbled past the Uruguayan marking and advanced from the Cape Verdean defense through the middle, catching Uruguay’s defense unprotected. He ended up being stopped by Bentancur, who received a yellow card for the foul.
From the kick, midfielder Kevin Pina shot hard into the right corner. The Uruguayan wall, with just two players, opened, and Muslera did not reach the ball.
The goal was only the second from a free kick in this World Cup. Saliba scored one for Canada in their 6-0 rout of Qatar.
After the goal, Uruguay had difficulty putting together plays. Despite playing advanced and pressing, the team was unable to pose a threat to Vozinha’s goal, in a situation reminiscent of Uruguay’s performance against Saudi Arabia.
In the first round game of the World Cup, which ended in a 1-1 draw, Uruguay needed 24 shots to score the equalizer.
This Sunday, not so many were needed. In the 43rd minute, Valverde crossed into the Cape Verdean area, and Bentancur disputed the ball high up. The shot was deflected, hit the post and fell to Maxi Araújo, who completed it into an empty goal, with the team’s tenth shot. Little Voice couldn’t do much.
In the 49th minute, in a good move by Uruguay, Ugarte advanced through the middle, threw it into the area, Maxi Araújo adjusted it, and Canobbio invaded to finish with his foot.
The second half started with little news, with Uruguay dominating. After 15 minutes, that changed.
In a general vacillation of the Uruguayan defensive system, defender Mathías Oliveira played towards the edge of the area, Muslera missed the goal, and striker Hélio Varela, who had just replaced Benchimol, finished to equalize: 2-2.
Uruguay then launched an attack. At 22 minutes, during a corner kick, the ball was live in the area. In a cross, after finishing, the ball fell to Vozinha, who didn’t hold on tight, and Maxi Araújo arrived to finish for the goal. But Araújo himself was offside at the origin of the play.
In the final 20 minutes, the South American team continued to press, but were ineffective against a well-positioned Cape Verde defense.
The African team, one of the four newcomers to this World Cup, was coming off a 0-0 draw with the favorite Spain, in a great Vozinha match.
The goalkeeper was responsible for seven saves against the Spanish, a fact that generated a campaign for him to be followed on Instagram. He started the domino night with more than 14 million followers.
