Cape Verde's protest following Uruguay's 1-1 lead and Federico Viñas's curious interaction with Telmo Arcanjo

At the end of the first half, Uruguay scored two goals to stage a partial comeback against Cape Verde in the second Group H match of the 2026 World Cup. In the 43rd minute, Telmo Arcanjo was lying on the ground with a muscle injury, and forward Federico Viñas was helping him stretch while La Celeste advanced with the ball. However, once Marcelo Bielsa’s team crossed midfield, Viñas realized the referee had let play continue and stopped assisting his teammate to position himself in the attacking zone. Suddenly, Federico Valverde sent in a cross from the left, and Lopes Cabral’s defensive header left the ball right at the feet of Maximiliano Araújo, who scored the 1-1 equalizer. Immediately, the Cape Verde players protested to the referee for not stopping the play so they could tend to their teammate. In fact, the team captains approached Valverde to express their frustration with the situation, and then the match continued. Later, in the second minute of stoppage time, Arcanjo had to comply with the referee’s decision, who asked him to leave the field for a full minute. Why? Because, having requested medical assistance, he was required to comply with the rules for that duration. In the sixth minute of stoppage time, Uruguay managed to turn the score around: Manuel Ugarte sent in a cross, Araújo brought it down, and Agustín Canobbio finished by opening his foot to make it 2-1.