MIAMI GARDENS — Maybe this was what FIFA had in mind when it expanded the field for the World Cup to 48 teams.
Actually, who are we kidding? Money is what FIFA had in mind.
But this — this wonderful side effect — that’s our payday.
In yet another piece of evidence that nobody should sleep on the so-called “minnows” of the field, Cape Verde rallied for a 2-2 draw with Uruguay in a breathless match that had both teams, and both sets of fans at a packed Hard Rock Stadium, exhaling when it was over.
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The NFL likes to sell us on the notion about any given Sunday, but in this World Cup, any given day ending in ‘y’ is liable to see a tiny country, a World Cup debutante or any other breed of minnow reaching up and biting a powerhouse where it hurts.
Not to mention, it’s making overnight sensations of players such as Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, who opened with a remarkable shutout of tournament co-favorite Spain, then had the eyes of the world upon him as his mother’s visa was rushed through so she could watch her son in person on the sport’s biggest stage. And they said this was Father’s Day?
Vozinha didn’t repeat his seven saves against the Spaniards. In fact, he didn’t save any shots since Uruguay managed two shots on goal. But he also didn’t make the blunder that his counterpart, Fernando Musiera, made in the 61st minute, resulting in the final goal.
Speaking of gifts, the evening began with one. Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa is a legend in the sport. Cape Verde coach Pedro Leitao Brito, better known as Bubista, looks up to Bielsa so much he gave his opponent an undisclosed gift before kickoff.
“For me and many other coaches in Africa especially, Bielsa is a master,” Bubista said. “We studied what he did throughout his career. All I did is give him a token, a little gift, from Cape Verde.”
Touched or otherwise, Bielsa wasn’t exactly in a festive mood after his team’s second consecutive draw.
“Undoubtedly Uruguay is a better squad than the one from Cape Verde,” he said. “But it had to be shown by us.”
Uruguay also is the second consecutive former World Cup champion (joining Spain) to come up short from an encounter with Cape Verde, the third-smallest country to ever qualify for the tournament. The smallest is Boca Raton-based Curacao, which a day earlier held Ecuador to a scoreless draw. If you’re starting to sense a pattern, good.
The list of other teams low in FIFA’s world rankings that have pulled off unexpected draws against higher-ranked teams include Bosnia Herzegovina (against Canada), New Zealand (Iran), South Africa (Czechia), Saudi Arabia (Uruguay), Ghana (Panama) and Qatar (Switzerland). It’s nearly a daily occurrence.
Bubista figures Cape Verde is just pulling its weight on behalf of its brethren.
“This is something we owe to other smaller national teams — teams that struggled to qualify for a world tournament,” he said. “We owe that to our people, to the African people. And we’re here to show that a country may be small, they struggle financially, but if resilient, they can endure. They can also stand shoulder to shoulder with teams that are another level.”
As if results like theirs weren’t remarkable enough, teams such as these are compelling for the stories behind their success. Take defender Robert “Pico” Lopes, whose call-up to the national team could be traced to LinkedIn, even if he wasn’t entirely certain at first that the message he received via the website was legit.
“I never thought that was the route to international football but it just goes to show that it can happen,” he said. “This is the stuff of dreams.
“When I received the message and I answered it and got called up, did I think we could make a World Cup? Probably not.”
Some U.S. fans spending megabucks for World Cup tickets no doubt were surprised to learn they’d be watching Cape Verde. A few days back, Fox, which is televising the tournament, asked a studio audience where Cape Verde is located. Only five members got it right (off the west coast of Africa).
“Many people did not know Cape Verde’s location in the world,” left back Stopira said. “So for us, and for me, I’m not surprised because I’ve believed since Day 1 that we could make history. I’m very grateful and proud of my team.”
Nearly 65,000 at the stadium, about three-quarters of whom were supporting Uruguay, were believers by the 21st minute. Cape Verde midfielder Telmo Arcanjo had made a darting run upfield before finally getting fouled by Rodrigo Bentancur, who earned a yellow card. That set up Kevin Pina’s blistering free kick from about 35 yards out that found the lower right corner of the net.
Although Uruguay controlled much of the first half, it appeared Cape Verde would go into halftime with that 1-nil lead, but Uruguay struck twice in the final minutes of the half. The ever-dangerous Maxi Araujo nailed a diving header off a rebound to equalize. In the final minute of stoppage time, Araujo helped set up Agustin Canobbio’s volley to beat Vozinha. Former Uruguayan legend Luis Suarez, of Inter Miami, cheered from high above.
This second round of Group H matches established Spain, with four points, as the team in charge (no surprise) but also found Uruguay and Cape Verde tied with two points apiece. Cape Verde’s Blue Sharks face Saudi Arabia on Friday in Houston with a legit shot of making the round of 32.
“Since we arrived here, that was our goal,” Lopes said. “We got here on merit. So you don’t win a prize to get to the World Cup. You have to qualify and it’s difficult to get here, and now you’re mixing it with some of the best teams in the world, and our goal was, first and foremost, just to attack the first game and show that we belong here.”
Cape Verde is a nation of about 525,000. Uruguay has about 3.3 million.
Sunday night, both walked out of Hard Rock Stadium with two goals and one point.
“Once on the pitch, a lot of things become equal,” Bubista said.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: World Cup: Cape Verde earns draw vs. Uruguay as ‘minnows’ strike again
Reporting by Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
