VenueHard Rock StadiumRefereeEspen Eskas, NorwayWatch (UK)BBC / ITV
Uruguay v Cape Verde prediction, lineups & tips: World Cup 2026 Group H
Every team in Group H sits on one point after Matchday 1. Uruguay need three points to keep Spain at arm's length; Cape Verde need a miracle, and they may just believe they can produce one.
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.
Uruguay
2–2
Full time
Cape Verde Islands
Sun 21 Jun, 23:00•Hard Rock Stadium
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.
Cape Verde: Vozinha; Moreira, Lopes, Diney, Lopes Cabral; R Mendes, K Pina, Laros Duarte, Monteiro, Livramento; Garry Rodrigues
Where to watch Uruguay v Cape Verde: TV and online streams
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.
Stats for Uruguay v Cape Verde
Uruguay took 27 shots against Saudi Arabia, with 10 on target, but generated an xG of 1.72, a 67% average possession share in their opening group game.
Cape Verde recorded just 6 shots, 1 on target and an xG of 0.20 against Spain, yet kept a clean sheet, only their second goalless draw in their five most recent fixtures.
Uruguay have won six of their previous nine World Cup group stage matches and four of five fixtures against African nations at World Cup finals.
This is the first ever meeting between Uruguay and Cape Verde. It is also Cape Verde's first World Cup; their debut ended in a 0-0 draw with Spain on 15 June 2026.
Headline prediction · our pick
✗ MissConfidence · medium
match result: uruguay to win
Uruguay have the class, the squad depth and the tactical intensity to break a Cape Verde defensive block that, for all its organisation, generated an xG of just 0.20 against Spain and barely threatened at the other end. Bielsa's side are not without concerns, two key absentees, a misfiring Nunez and a first half against Saudi Arabia that produced all four penalty-area shots from set pieces, but the volume of chances they create (27 shots, 10 on target in one game) against a side that averaged just 1 shot on target suggests the dam will break. Cape Verde will make it uncomfortable, but Uruguay should have enough to win narrowly.
Best Price7/16bet365 · score 2-0
✗ Prediction missed
TIP 01✗ Miss
Correct Score: 2-0
Cape Verde managed just one shot on target across 90 minutes against Spain, who had 74 per cent possession. Uruguay, averaging 67 per cent possession themselves and generating 1.72 xG in their opener, should have enough to score twice. A clean sheet is plausible given Cape Verde's xG of 0.20 against Spain and their average of just 0.8 goals conceded per match in African qualifying. The price of roughly 11/2 reflects the uncertainty around Uruguay's finishing, but 2-0 fits the most likely shape of the match.
TIP 02✗ Miss
Over 2.5 Goals: Under
Cape Verde kept a clean sheet in their World Cup debut and conceded just 0.8 goals per game on average across their CAF qualifying campaign. Uruguay scored only once from 27 shots against Saudi Arabia and have netted one goal or fewer in seven of their last eight games. The Under 2.5 at 8/13 reflects two defences that are hard to break down, and a Cape Verde side unlikely to threaten at the other end given their xG of 0.20 on Matchday 1.
TIP 03✗ Miss
Both Teams to Score: No
Cape Verde failed to score against Spain, averaging just 0.20 xG, 6 shots and 1 on target in that fixture. Against a Bielsa side that presses aggressively and defends with a high line, they are unlikely to find the space they did not find against Spain. Only three of Cape Verde's last 14 competitive matches have seen both teams score, and Uruguay have conceded in only one of their last nine World Cup group games. BTTS No at 1/2 looks short, but it is the percentage call.
TIP 04✓ Hit
Anytime Goalscorer: Maxi Araujo
Maxi Araujo scored Uruguay's only goal of the tournament so far, converting a rebound in the 81st minute against Saudi Arabia, the kind of late, opportunistic strike that characterises his game. With Valverde operating as the primary creator and Nunez likely to occupy defenders centrally, Araujo has the freedom to arrive from wide areas and arrive late. He takes corners and free kicks for Uruguay, adding set-piece threat. At roughly 5/2, he represents the best value in the Uruguay forward line given his recent output.
TIP 05✓ Hit
Double Chance: Home or Draw
Uruguay have lost only one of their last nine World Cup group games. Even allowing for the absentees and the underwhelming display against Saudi Arabia, they carry far too much quality for a Cape Verde side that touched the ball just 14 times in the opposition half across an entire half against Spain. Home or Draw at 1/13 is near-certainty territory, but as an insurance leg in a build-up bet it seals off the unlikely scenario of a Blue Sharks upset win.
Build the Uruguay v Cape Verde Islands bet
BetFootball Builder · 3 Legs✗ Miss
Home Win
✗ Miss
Match Result
7/16
Uruguay win anchors the builder. It removes the risk of a Cape Verde upset, which, despite their heroics against Spain, remains an unlikely outcome given the class differential and Uruguay's 27 shots in their opener. The other two legs in this builder can then price in a low-scoring game where Uruguay score but Cape Verde do not.
No
✗ Miss
Both Teams to Score
1/2
This leg complements the Uruguay win by specifying that the victory will be by clean sheet, which is consistent with Cape Verde's attacking output: one shot on target and 0.20 xG against Spain. A no-BTTS leg does not contradict a Uruguay win, it simply narrows the range of scorelines to a 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 type outcome rather than a 2-1 or 3-1.
Maxi Araujo
✓ Hit
Anytime Goalscorer
5/2
Araujo is from a different market to the result and BTTS legs, so the builder is valid. He scored Uruguay's only goal at this World Cup so far and is their most active scorer across recent competitive fixtures. If this is a tight, low-scoring Uruguay win, a single goal from Araujo, arriving late from a wide area as he did against Saudi Arabia, is the most plausible route to a result. The three legs together point at a 1-0 or 2-0 Uruguay win with Araujo on the scoresheet.
Uruguay
Cape Verde Islands
