In a lively game in Group H, Uruguay and Cape Verde drew 2-2 this Sunday (21), at the 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 stage. 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.
In the game, midfielder Kevin Pina opened the scoring for Cape Verde with a free kick. Uruguay turned around with Maxi Araújo and Canobbio, and Hélio Varela equalized again, giving final numbers to the duel.
Spain 4 x 0 Saudi Arabia
Spain left no room for a new surprise. After a goalless draw with Cape Verde in their debut, the European team took to the field at a high pace and thrashed Saudi Arabia 4-0 without giving them a chance to react.
The result in Atlanta placed Spain at the top of Group H of the World Cup, with 4 points.
The goals were scored by Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal, twice, and Hassan Tambakti, against, after Marc Cucurella’s shot.
The first of them had historical weight. At 18 years and 343 days, Yamal became the eighth youngest player to score at a World Cup and surpassed Lionel Messi in the rankings.
The Argentine was 18 years and 357 days old when he scored his first goal in the World Cup, in the 6-0 victory over Serbia and Montenegro, in 2006. The leader of the statistics is Pelé, aged 17 years and 239 days in 1958.
The final round will be played on Friday (26). Spain will face Uruguay, while Saudi Arabia will play Cape Verde.
Belgium 0 x 0 Iran
In the teams’ second game in the World Cup, Iran played out a goalless draw against Belgium in Los Angeles.
Under pressure for much of the match, the Iranian team relied on a confident performance from goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, who was applauded by the fans present at SoFi Stadium.
With the result, the two teams are tied with 2 points and remain with chances of qualifying for the knockout stage – a feat that would be unprecedented for the Persian team.
The hero of the 0-0 was goalkeeper Beiranvand. At 15 minutes into the second half, the defense barely cleared a low cross, and De Cuyper shot at the goal from inside the small area. The Iranian goalkeeper, lying on the ground, managed to jump and block with his left hand, in one of the most incredible saves so far in this World Cup.
Iran returns to the field next Friday (26), in Seattle, against Egypt, at midnight. Belgium, at the same time, duels with New Zealand in Vancouver.
New Zealand 1 x 3 Egypt
After three draws in Group G, Egypt managed a convincing comeback against New Zealand and won 3-1 on Sunday night at the BC Place stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
It was the first victory for the African team in four editions of the World Cup (1934, 1990, 2018 and 2026).
With the result, Egypt took the lead of the group with 4 points, two more than Iran and Belgium, who played a goalless draw hours earlier. New Zealand is at the bottom of the group, with 1 point.
In the last round of the group, which will define those classified in the 32-team phase, Egypt will face Iran and New Zealand will face Belgium, both games at midnight on Friday (26).
The highlight of the duel was the star Mo Salah, who scored a goal and assisted Trezeguet to close the score. Zico had tied the game after New Zealander Surman opened the scoring at the start of the match.
