Uruguay 2-2 Cabo Verde - 2026 World Cup Match Report and Player Ratings

Pina Stunner Earns Historic Opportunity for Cabo Verde in Enticing Draw

THe sun shone down on the Miami Stadium in Florida for this high-stakes Group H matchup. After two draws in their respective opening matches, Uruguay met up with surprise package Cabo Verde with both sides looking for a result to see them into the top two heading into the final round of fixtures.

For the South American giants, Marcelo Bielsa was looking to improve upon their tough but relentless performance against Saudi Arabia, while the African minnows hoped to back up their historic draw with European champions Spain with another huge result against La Celeste.

Here are the events in this stunning 2-2 draw in Group H which leaves Uruguay's World Cup lives very much in the balance.

Uruguay 2-2 Cabo Verde: As It Happened

Following Spain's emphatic 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia six hours prior to this clash, goal difference was already becoming a critical factor and so this match had a lot of importance. Both sides knew the pressure they were under and it didn't take long for Cabo Verde to make a mistake. Not in terms of a goal, but full-back Sidny Cabral put in a late challenge and received the game's first yellow.

10 minutes in and Uruguay were screaming for a spot-kick. A ball played in from the left side by Maxi Araujo found a teammate in the box, who's header struck a red arm, but the referee waved away any calls for a penalty.

As expected, the pressure was all coming from Uruguay as La Celeste were dominating the game in the middle of the park, and finding ways to get forward and create chances - luckily for Vozinha, however, the 40-year-old remained untested.

And just within the first quarter of an hour, they found their first big chance. Araujo worked the ball spectacularly well down the left, before finding talisman Federico Valverde with a seemingly free shot, but his effort dragged across and wide of the goal.

With his following have spiked by millions in the past week, Vozinha seemingly was not letting any pressure to back up his debut performance, remaining completely calm even when his side were under serious pressure.

Talk about pressure...

20 minutes in, a free-kick from at least 30 yards out. It would be audacious to shoot from that distance, outrageous even. But not for Kevin Pina. The 29-year-old drilled it low and under the wall, and it squirmed its way through Fernando Muslera to give the minnows an utterly historic goal.

CAPE VERDE LEAD AT THE WORLD CUP! 😮🇨🇻

Kevin Pina's free kick from distance puts the debutants ahead against two-time World Cup winners Uruguay! #FifaWorldCup pic.twitter.com/je1rAcdrvO

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 21, 2026

The next big chance before the break also fell to the underdogs. Garry Rodrigues whipped in a brilliant ball from the left side of the pitch, almost catching Muslera off guard but instead forcing him to turn it round for a corner.

And from out of absolutely nowhere, Uruguay drew level. Personally, I was taken aback from Federico Vinas suddenly going from looking he was helping Telmo Arcanjo with a calf issue to rushing into the box while the ball was infact still in play. A long ball launched in was just about met by Rodrigo Bentancur's head which just about beat Vozinha in hitting the post, before the hero against Saudi in Maxi Araujo once again stepped up to equalise.

Just before the interval, the tables had officially turned. Something in the water changed once Uruguay restored parity, and what a brilliant move it was. La Celeste were playing the ball about nonchantly, until Manuel Ugarte decided to move into fifth gear, delivering a gorgeous ball deep into the box, where Araujo's cushioned header was met by Agustin Canobbio to give his side the lead.

Half-Time Score: Uruguay 2-1 Cabo Verde

Overall, after three very impressive halves of World Cup football so far, Cabo Verdefound themselves in a losing position for the first time, and they needed to find some way back into the tie.

Roughly an hour into proceedings, Cabo Verde had yet another chance from a free-kick. This time, however, Uruguay dealt with Pina much easier, with Vinas playing lead blocker as play had to be stopped after he copped a ball in the face.

But this wasn't going to be there only good chance for long. They caught La Celeste completely off guard. It was rather sloppy and complacent from Uruguay as a throw in was carelessly kicked across the field by Mathias Olivera, of which newly substituted Helio Varela jumped on to to beat Muslera and slot it in the empty net to tie things up once again.

Almost straight from kick-off the African side almost took the lead again, with Jamiro Monteiro being invited forward, but his audacious effort was only good enough to ripple the top of the goal net.

It was not long until Uruguay thought they retook the lead though. Originally ruled out for offside by the linesman, it was from a corner where the ball was eventually bundled over the line, following Vozinha having used up the luck he had earned against Spain, as his mistake was geld at bay by the offside flag.

With time dying out and Uruguay knowing they needed a third if they were to go into their final group stage clash against Spain not needing three points, but the resilient Cabo Verde stood as strong as ever, putting bodies on the line at every turn.

One last chance feel to Uruguay, and it feel to Darwin Nunez. Played in down the right side and over the top, Nunez ran towards the box, looking to fire his shot into the top right corner, but his effort blasted inches over.

Full-Time Score: Uruguay 2-2 Cabo Verde

Uruguay Player Ratings

🚨 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Uruguay XI in the World Cup vs. Cape Verde! 🇺🇾💫 pic.twitter.com/byj9iuxKqA

— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) June 21, 2026

• Fernando Muslera (5)
• Juan Sanabria (6)
• Mathias Olivera (7)
• Sebastian Caceres (7)
• Guillermo Varela (6)
• Manuel Ugarte (6)
• Rodrigo Bentancur (7)
• Federico Valverde (7)
• Maxi Araujo (8)
• Federico Vinas (6)
• Agustin Canobbio (7)
• Nicolas de la Cruz (6)
• Darwin Nunez (6)
• Brian Rodriguez (6)

Cabo Verde Player Ratings

🏆 Mundial 2026
📝 2.ª Jornada Grupo H
🗓️ 21 de Junho
🏟️ Estádio de Miami
🕛 18h00 (21h00 CV)
⚽ Uruguai 🇺🇾 🆚 🇨🇻 Cabo Verde

𝗢𝗡𝗭𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 https://t.co/UZCpdeWnj1

----- #FIFAWorldCup | #FIFAWorldCup2026 | #CaboVerde | #TubarõesAzuis | #WeAreCaboVerde pic.twitter.com/1iX6KCbCFz

— Federação Cabo-verdiana de Futebol (@fcfcomunica) June 21, 2026

• Vozinha (6)
• Sidny Cabral (6)
• Diney Borges (7)
• Roberto Lopes (7)
• Steven Moreira (6)
• Kevin Pina (8)
• Garry Rodrigues (6)
• Jamiro Monteiro (6)
• Telmo Arcanjo (6)
• Ryan Mendes (6)
• Gilson Benchimol (6)
• Deroy Duarte (6)
• Helio Varela (8)
• Nuno da Costa (6)
• Laros Duarte (6)

Player of the Match - Kevin Pina

As much of a good game Maxi Araujo had and that realsitcially he probably deserved this title, Kevin Pina achieved some remarkable feat today that can never be repeated.

Not only did he manage to record the country's first ever goal in the World Cup, but they style in which he did so was quite something.

An outrageous free-kick from 30-35 yards out, it was an absolute rocket that left Muslera in the Uruguay net with no chance.

Bad Day at the Office - Mathias Olivera

It was quite difficult to pick the "worst" player of the game in this entertaining clash, but it has to go to the player who made a fatal error leading to a massive goal.

After overturning the deficit, Uruguay looked very much on top and in control of the game, until Olivera very carelessly looped the ball into the middle of the pitch, which allowed Cabo Verde's Varela to pounce on the poor pass to equalise the scores once more.