Cape Verde can compete with football’s best, says Brito after Uruguay draw
Coach of Cape Verde, Pedro Leitão Brito (“Bubista”) says his squad has proved beyond reasonable doubt that they can stand “shoulder to shoulder” with football’s major powers.
Brito who was speaking moments after the thrilling Group H encounter played at the magnificent Miami Stadium dedicated his team’s performance to smaller nations regarded as minnows.
The coach expressed immense pride following his team’s pulsating 2-2 draw with Uruguay and also emphasized that resilience, grit and heart can overcome financial disadvantages.
“This is something we owe to other smaller national teams — teams that struggled to qualify for a world tournament,” Cape Verde coach Pedro Leitão Brito said through an interpreter.
He said that even with minimal resources and a small population, resilience allows his team to compete at the highest level and also added that his entire squad believes it can continue its historic play and reach the knockout stage of the World Cup.
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“We’re also here to show that a country may be small, may struggle financially,” he added, “but if they are resilient, if they can endure struggle, they can also stand shoulder to shoulder with other major teams and with players who are on another level.”
The African team nicknamed The Blue Sharks scored the first goal of the game in the 21st minute when Kevin Pina scored his country’s first ever World Cup goal when he fired an unstoppable free kick from 32-metres through the Uruguayan defence wall.
Uruguay tutored by Argentine head coach Marcelo Bielsa rallied back into the game late in the first half with two quick-fire goals to take the lead in the game when Maxi Araújo equalized in the 43rd minute, and later Agustín Canobbio netting in the first-half stoppage time to make it 2-1.
The Cape Verde national team made sure they had a share of the spoils in the 61st minute of the game when substitute Hélio Varela capitalized on a defensive mix-up between Mathías Olivera and goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, to slid the ball into an empty net thus pegging the encounter at a 2-2 draw.
Both teams will both play their final group stage games on Friday, June 26, 2026, with Cape Verde clashing with Saudi Arabia while Uruguay will square up for a tough matchup against Spain.
