Cape Verde are the story of the World Cup and Uruguay draw is the game of the tournament | OneFootball

Cape Verde are the story of the 2026 World Cup. And after watching their 2-2 draw with Uruguay, it’s impossible not to root for them.

That was really fun. Cape Verde are really fun. What a story.

The World Cup debutants’ draw with two-time world champions Uruguay was simply enthralling and is a result that puts Cape Verde in an incredible position to qualify for the knockout stages.

They could achieve that feat at the first attempt – and before Scotland have managed to do so.

In their very first World Cup match they held reigning European champions Spain to a goalless draw and many expected the Cape Verdean bubble to burst against Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay. It was never supposed to get any better than that result and the millions of Instagram followers that followed for 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, but getting to the round of 32 would eclipse all of it.

Cape Verde once again put absolutely everything on the line and will feel aggrieved they did not beat Uruguay.

They defended tremendously, scored two fantastic goals and now face one-point Saudi Arabia on matchday three. A draw could be enough but a win is actually realistic.

Every neutral will be rooting for the African minnows when they face the 2034 hosts, as the Uruguay draw cemented their status as the story of this World Cup.

And their 2-2 draw on Sunday night/Monday morning was the game of the tournament so far.

There have been some crackers, but that had everything and more.

Cape Verde’s opening goal was a 30-yard free-kick just because. Uruguay might have demonstrated the worst wall in the history of football as Kevin Pina’s low strike went straight between two defenders, both of whom will no doubt have felt Bielsa’s terrifying wrath at half-time.

Uruguay’s turnaround came in the blink of an eye. Well, seven minutes-ish.

Their equaliser, headed in by Maxi Araujo, came at the end of a rather hilarious sequence of events. During the build-up, Uruguay striker Federico Vinas was helping Telmo Arcanjo deal with cramp until he realised his side had a great chance of scoring, promptly dropping Arcanjo’s leg and sprinting into the box.

It was absolutely hilarious and will surely go down as one of the funniest moments of the tournament, in what we are keen to emphasise was the game of the tournament.

The night owls have been thoroughly vindicated for ruining their sleeping patterns, changing their body clocks completely and sleeping through their alarms with some of the matches we have seen in the early hours.

Iran 2-2 New Zealand at 2am in the United Kingdom was another belter despite looking the most skippable fixture of the group stage. Paraguay’s chaotic 1-0 win over Turkiye kicked off at 4am, Austria’s 3-1 win over Jordan was also excellent, and all three are comfortably among the best games of the tournament so far alongside Cape Verde vs Uruguay.

It’s begrudgingly been a wonderful World Cup.

And Cape Verde have been the biggest and best story of the summer.

We cannot wait to see what they are capable of against Saudi Arabia on Saturday morning, while Uruguay must avoid defeat against a much-improved Spain if they are to stand any chance of escaping a group they would have been licking their lips at for months.

Uruguay have been disappointing and clearly miss the quality they boasted in years gone by.

Long gone are the days of Diego Forlan, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani. Now they have Darwin Nunez and the aforementioned Vinas vying for the No.9 shirt, and it just is not quite the same.

While Uruguay have fallen well below expectations, Cape Verde have exceeded them and then some.

We would probably recommend a little more composure in the final third and a few fewer shots from range, but what do we know? Just keep smashing them hard and low and see what happens, especially if opposition defenders kindly parts like the Red Sea.

Whatever happens against Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde have already captured hearts at this World Cup.

But please, do not let the bubble burst now.

We want more Cape Verde. What a team.