Uruguay v Cape Verde prediction, lineups & tips: World Cup 2026 Group H

Every team in FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H sits on one point after a round of draws that nobody quite predicted. Spain could not score past Cape Verde. Uruguay could not hold Saudi Arabia. The result is an entirely level group heading into Matchday 2, and Sunday's fixture at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami is the one that will almost certainly sort out who controls their own destiny for the final round of fixtures on 26 June.

Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay were poor in the first half against Saudi Arabia, all four of their shots inside the penalty area before the break came from set pieces, and Darwin Nunez was hauled off at half-time after a frustrating 45 minutes. The second half told a different story. Uruguay injected urgency, got Federico Valverde into better areas, and Maxi Araujo rescued a point with a shot from the left in the 81st minute. Bielsa will have been relieved, but a 1-1 draw against a Saudi Arabia side ranked 45 places below Uruguay in the FIFA rankings is not the platform the two-time world champions needed.

Bielsa will make changes. Ronald Araujo and Giorgian de Arrascaeta are both sidelined with injuries, which blunts Uruguay at both ends. Jose Gimenez will marshal the defence in Araujo's absence, while Valverde carries an even greater creative burden without De Arrascaeta. The question hanging over the camp is whether Nunez starts, he struggled badly against Saudi Arabia before his half-time withdrawal, though Bielsa is unlikely to drop his most high-profile forward.

Cape Verde's draw with Spain on Matchday 1 was one of the great World Cup shocks of modern times. Spain had 23 shots and 74 per cent possession; Cape Verde's 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha made seven saves and three high claims to deny the European champions any kind of opening. The Blue Sharks managed just one shot on target. They barely left their own half, according to Opta, Cape Verde completed the lowest number of passes in an opponent's half in a single half of World Cup football since 1966. And they still kept a clean sheet. Coach Bubista's defensive blueprint worked to perfection, and he will arrive in Miami convinced it can work again.

Cape Verde coach Bubista told reporters after the Spain draw that he wanted his team to "do the impossible" and build on the result by sealing a place in the World Cup round of 32. That target requires at least one win from the remaining two group games. A draw against Uruguay would leave the Blue Sharks dangerously reliant on their final fixture against Saudi Arabia.

Predicted lineups for Uruguay v Cape Verde

Uruguay: Muslera; Varela, Gimenez, Caceres, Sanabria; Valverde, Ugarte, Bentancur; Canobbio, Nunez, M Araujo

Cape Verde: Vozinha; Moreira, Lopes, Diney, Lopes Cabral; R Mendes, K Pina, Laros Duarte, Monteiro, Livramento; Garry Rodrigues

Uruguay v Cape Verde kicks off at 23:00 BST on Sunday 21 June at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The match is live on BBC One in the UK, with streaming available via BBC iPlayer. All 104 matches at FIFA World Cup 2026 are broadcast free-to-air across BBC and ITV.