Cape Verde continues to surprise and, after holding Spain, also snatches a draw against Bielsa’s Uruguay and moves closer to a qualification that would be not only historic, but sensational.
One point against Saudi Arabia could be enough for the African side to reach the next round, while Uruguay will be forced to play it all against the reigning European champions. Not exactly a walk in the park.
Bielsa’s team had approached the match with aggression, but Cape Verde’s personality came through in possession, managing to limit La Celeste‘s threat. Then, in the 21st minute, they even took the lead with Kevin Pina’s thunderbolt from a free kick, a long-range effort that caught a culpable Muslera by surprise, betrayed by his own wall as it opened up and let the ball pass right through the middle. Cape Verde’s first-ever goal at a World Cup.
Cape Verde close to qualifying, 2-2
Uruguay’s response, however, was fierce. Before the end of the first half, they struck with a deadly one-two that turned everything around: in the 43rd minute Araujo tapped in after former Juventus man Bentancur hit the post, while in the 45th+6 minute Canobbio completed the comeback with a close-range finish from, once again, an Araujo knockdown, making it 2-1.
Game over? Not at all, because in the second half — with the South Americans in control of the match — a serious mistake by Olivera reopened everything: in the 60th minute Helio Varela intercepted Olivera’s misplaced pass and beat Muslera, who had come rushing off his line in a move that was, to say the least, rash.
In the closing stages, Uruguay threw everything at it, coming within inches of taking the lead again through Araujo, but . The result rewards Cape Verde’s courage, still unbeaten and increasingly close to a historic milestone. For Uruguay, meanwhile, qualification is now in serious doubt.
New Zealand-Egypt 1-3
Egypt claimed the first World Cup win in their history, coming from behind against New Zealand to move top of the group ahead of Belgium and Iran. A crucial victory for the Pharaohs, who are now close to qualifying for the round of 32. A positive result against Iran will be enough for Hassan’s team to be certain of continuing their journey, while New Zealand will have to beat Belgium to keep their hopes alive.
The match proved more complicated than expected for the Egyptians. The All Whites produced an excellent first half, taking the lead through a Surman header from a corner taken by Payne. Organized and brave, the New Zealanders caused Egypt problems, who struggled to respond and created few chances before the break.
In the second half, however, the match changed. Egypt raised the tempo and pinned their opponents back in their own half. The equalizer came through Zico, who did well to head home a cross from Hany. Shortly after, Zico himself provided the assist for Momo Salah, who completed the comeback to make it 2-1 and score his 68th goal for the national team.
With New Zealand now struggling, Egypt kept attacking and wrapped things up thanks to Trezeguet, who came off the bench and scored the final 3-1 from a corner taken by Salah.
After narrowly avoiding a shock elimination, the Pharaohs can now almost touch the dream of qualification. New Zealand leaves defeated, but with the awareness that they fought beyond all expectations against technically superior opponents.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
