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2 hours ago
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Key events
Speaking of the sheer volume of games, I should pass you along to Jonathan Howcroft for … (checks notes) … New Zealand vs. Egypt.
Last word to Richard Warwick: “With Spain showing signs of returning consciousness, I reckon them doing a number on Uruguay, Cape Verde getting a draw that gets them second (!!) in the group, and their well earned reward is a last 32 fixture against the current World Cup holders. Even if the fairy tale ends there, that would be an utterly epic competition for them. And - dare I say it - not a huge leap of faith for those results to pan out either!”
Thanks for following along through this chaos-riddled, miscue-laden, glorious and historic game. Anything is possible.
Ben Barclay: “I remember Canada’s shame at being FIFA ranked lower than Cape Verde. Credit to them for what they have done here, but Spain were awful. At least Uruguay took them seriously. A 48 team tournament is still a waste of 78 games to reduce 48 to 32. We need a ‘Europa League’ World Cup for the minnows and mediums.”
I have to say – the sheer volume of games has made this Cup more fun than I expected. But the competitive balance is indeed askew. The idea of having a “Europa League” is an interesting one. If there’s a way to match this international spectacle with some games counting toward a 32-team Cup and some not counting, I’d support that.
For me, based solely on two touches, the man of the match is Helio Varela.
Yes, it was a terrible pass at the back for Uruguay, but it was far from a tap-in goal. Varela’s two touches were exquisite, and Cape Verde got its draw.
This seems a good time to point everyone to The Guardian’s Bracketology feature, where you can plug in hypothetical results and see how the knockout rounds will play out as a result.
Not sure the USA will have to face a top-10 team until 2030 at this rate.
Group H standings
Spain 4 pts., +4 GD
Uruguay 2 pts., 0 GD, 3 goals scored
Cape Verde 2 pts., 0 GD, 2 goals scored
Saudi Arabia 1 pt., -4 GD
If Cape Verde can get a better result against Saudi Arabia than Uruguay can manage against Spain, they take second in the group.
But what if Uruguay beat Spain and Cape Verde beat Saudi Arabia. Can you imagine?
Paul Griffin passes along a stat that I’ll need to expound upon: “Cape Verde have never lost to a competitive fixture against a side that’s won a World Cup. Not just in this tournament. Ever.”
Roger Kirkby puts it well: “Hi Beau, to all the folk who pooh-pooh a 48 team tourney, I politely say, ‘You know nothing, John Snow.’”
Final: Uruguay 2-2 Cape Verde
The anticlimactic end belies what just happened.
Cape Verde got a draw with Uruguay.
Cape Verde did so after getting a draw with Spain.
Can you believe this?
90 min +8 Free kick to Cape Verde, and surely the last kick of the game.
In fact, it’s not allowed. Final whistle blows.
90 min +8 Cape Verde blast the ball from midfield out over the far goal line. It’d be generous to call that shot.
90 min +7 Duarte draws a foul – honestly, perhaps less contact than some other plays. Long-range free kick, shot, Muslera holds. Then he punts all the way to his opposite number.
Just 45 seconds from history?
Things are going so quickly, but we have to pause and note here – how monumental would it be for one of the smallest countries on earth to open its World Cup account with two draws against two of the sport’s traditional and current powers?
90 min + 6 It was at least a corner for Cape Verde, and they manage to stop Uruguay’s counter after losing it.
90 min +5 Cape Verde have numbers moving forward. Off to Da Costa, who beats his man. A recovering defender clatters into him – no penalty? No check?
90 min +4 THAT shot was worth taking. A quick turn in the box, and Muslera is forced to save.
90 min +3 Cape Verde get possession and try a couple of long-range shots, and they fail to have enough people back to prevent Cano from going to the races. Lopes just barely gets back to distract him, and the shot goes wide.
Borges into the book for reasons unknown. Dissent, probably.
90 min +2 De La Cruz plays long for Nuñez. He darts past a defender and puts a worm-burning cross through the six-yard box. Valverde was so close to getting a foot to it.
90 min +1 Semedo was the one who picked up the yellow card.
Eight minutes of stoppage time.
Cape Verde have a throw-in – for once, on the other side of midfield.
89 min Free kick just outside the box, and a card, as De La Cruz is tripped up. Uruguay free kick from 20. A Cape Verde player lies behind the wall to prevent the shot being placed under the wall. Valverde hits it over the bar.
89 min Cape Verde may regret using up their subs. At least one player is hobbling, possibly cramped./
88 min That’s better from Vozinha, clearing emphatically as danger arises near his feet.
87 min Uruguay’s efforts at corner kicks aren’t bad, but Cape Verde are just managing to deal with them. This is very much like the Spain game, though – Cape Verde hanging on while a global audience holds its breath.
86 min Vozinha again spills the ball, and Cape Verde are lucky it’s not turned into the net. As brilliant as Cape Verde’s keeper was in their first game against Spain, he’s struggling today.
85 min Uruguay earn a corner. Multiple soccer balls are in the corner. Kick the one in the middle.
84 min Uruguay maybe seizing control again here. Cape Verde pressing and intercepting but unable to gain possession.
81 min Araújo does well to put in a cross, headed away for a corner, and that’ll be his last kick of the game. Rodriguez is in.
80 min Monteiro heads out. Semedo is in, and that’s all the subs Cape Verde may use.
79 min Oh my. Varela with a crunching tackle at midfield to interrupt a counterattack. No foul called, but both players are down.
79 min Lopes down for Cape Verde in his own box, but Uruguay play on, as is their right.
78 min This game has opened up. Maybe the ref knew what he was doing in holding off on the hydration break – now we’re set for a sprint finish.
77 min Truth be told, neither quadragenarian goalkeeper has fared well in this game.
Vozinha gives people heart palpitations by waiting until the last second to collect a ball.
Kári Tulinius writes: “Marcelo Bielsa likes his keepers to act as sweepers. At 40, Muslera isn’t naturally suited to that role, and so a defensive calamity results.”
Isn’t Neuer also in this tournament at an advanced age?
I was told to quit coming off my line when I was 45.
75 min Another Cape Verde attack! Pass deflected for a corner.
Uruguay had this game under complete control. One bad pass, one meandering goalkeeper, and everything changed.
If you want another complication – there are some blotches on the radar in the Miami area, but I can’t tell if they’re near the stadium.
VAR upholds no goal. We get the subs … still no hydration? Hello? It’s a sauna in Miami.
For Cape Verde, Laros Duarte replaces the first goal-scorer, Kevin Pina.
For Uruguay, Nuñez and De La Cruz replace Viñas and Ugarte.
NOW we get the break.
We’re getting a VAR review that we can’t see.
No goal!
Vozinha would’ve hated that. Deflected ball, rolls and bounces off his post, and he somehow doesn’t field it cleanly, and it’s bundled in. But the first pass in that sequence appeared to be to someone in an offside position – the player who took the corner, in fact.
68 min Corner kick to Uruguay, but will the subs come on first? It’s Nuñez and De La Cruz for Uruguay. Kick is taken …
67 min Brave block by Lopes as Valverde nearly created a good shooting opportunity from the top of area.
We’re about to see Darwin Nuñez.
65 min Long ball to Araújo but superbly defended.
65 min Player down for Cape Verde, and I sense that Uruguay isn’t happy about that.
64 min Chance to Cape Verde! Monteiro fires just over the bar from 22 yards out. Muslera barely waved at it.
Credit to Varela – his two touches were immaculate – but what on earth was Muslera doing?
Also a horrible pass from Olivera.
Goal! Uruguay 2-2 Cape Verde (Varela 61)
This is the craziest World Cup ever!
A simple missed pass in Uruguay’s half, and for reasons known only to him, Muslera is far off his line. Varela easily taps the ball around him and wastes no time slotting the ball into the empty net.
59 min No repeat of the Cape Verde free kick this time, as Uruguay double the size of the wall from two to four, and the players hold their ground. Painfully so.
