Bielsa admits Uruguay lost control after 2-2 draw with Cabo Verde

Uruguay’s World Cup campaign stalled again in Miami, where Marcelo Bielsa watched his side lose control in a 2-2 draw with Cabo Verde and leave Group H finely balanced. Uruguay had 65.3% possession and still managed only two shots on target, a blunt statistical picture of a team that could not turn territorial dominance into authority.

Kevin Pina put Cabo Verde ahead in the 21st minute, before Maxi Araújo equalized in the 44th and Agustín Canobbio pushed Uruguay in front in first-half stoppage time, in the 45th minute plus six. Hélio Varela struck in the 61st minute to restore parity, and the result left both teams on two points. Cabo Verde arrived from a 0-0 draw with Spain, reinforcing the scale of the challenge for a debutant side that has unsettled one of South America’s traditional powers.

The draw sharpened the questions around Bielsa’s project more than the scoreline alone. Uruguay has long been built around intensity, pressing and control, but against Cabo Verde that identity broke down in stretches that made the match feel less like a surprise setback than a warning sign. Uruguay’s final Group H match now carries outsized weight because the top two advance automatically and the eight best third-place teams also move on, leaving little room for another flat performance.

Bielsa, who is 70 and has led Uruguay since May 2023, said in May 2026 that his contract with the Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol will end with this World Cup and will not be renewed afterward. That gives the current tournament the feel of a closing chapter as much as a campaign, and every lapse now looks more expensive with his tenure nearing its end.

Uruguay came into this World Cup after missing the knockout phase in Qatar 2022, though it did carry stronger recent credentials after reaching the Copa América 2024 semifinals by eliminating Brazil in the quarterfinals before losing to Colombia. Bielsa’s 26-man squad included Sergio Rochet, Fernando Muslera, Ronald Araújo, José María Giménez, Federico Valverde and Darwin Núñez, a group with enough pedigree to demand more than two points from six.

The larger problem is no longer one match. It is whether Uruguay’s control is slipping at the exact moment qualification pressure is rising.