MIAMI GARDENS — Underdog Cape Verde rallied to tie Uruguay in World Cup action at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday thanks in large part to a second-half blunder by veteran goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.
Helio Varela’s goal in the 60th minute brought Cape Verde even at 2-2 just before the hydration break on June 21.
Muslera, a 40-year-old Uruguay national team veteran, put himself in no man’s land after an errant pass in his defensive back line. Varela easily dribbled past Muslera to score the goal, which sent fans of the west African island nation into a frenzy.
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Cape Verde scored its first-ever World Cup goal earlier in the match and it will certainly go down as one of the tournament’s very best.
Kevin Pina ripped a free kick goal in the 22nd minute against Uruguay to give Cape Verde a 1-0 lead over Uruguay.
Uruguay answered the Cape Verde free kick with back-to-back goals to take a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Both teams are battling to qualify for the knockout stages out of Group G.
The group’s first matches, Saudi Arabia vs. Uruguay and Spain vs. Cape Verde, ended in draws, leaving all four teams with a single point. Spain drubbed Saudi Arabia 4-0 on Sunday afternoon to take the group’s top position.
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at ejwallace@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Uruguay goalie Fernando Muslera’s blunder allows Cape Verde goal
Reporting by Eric J. Wallace, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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By Eric J. Wallace, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
