Bielsa-ball on the brink as Uruguay draw with Cape Verde

Bielsa-ball on the brink after Cape Verde draw

Uruguay 0–0 Saudi Arabia. Uruguay 1–1 Cape Verde. Your team has two points from two matches in Group H, and the math is unforgiving. Marcelo Bielsa did not sugarcoat it: "I think that the problem or greatest issue is that we started the second half with the ball and with the victory" (2).

The Cape Verde equaliser landed seconds after a Uruguayan couple got engaged in the stands. That is the tournament so far, something promising, then the floor drops out.

Bielsa's vertical system has produced no wins at this World Cup. The man who called himself "a generator of tension" after that 5–1 friendly loss to the United States last November is now generating the wrong kind of tension. Group stage elimination is a live possibility.

Uruguay must win the final group match. No other result works.

Muslera sets records, good and bad

Fernando Muslera earned his 20th World Cup cap against Saudi Arabia, a national record (1). He also became the oldest player to ever start a World Cup match for Uruguay. The less flattering side: Muslera has now conceded in each of his last seven World Cup appearances, another mark nobody wanted.

Fan-reaktioner

The engagement-and-equaliser sequence crystallised the mood on r/soccer, fans called it the most Uruguayan thing that could happen. A proposal, a roar, and then silence as Cape Verde struck back. Dark humour is carrying supporters through, but the tension is real. Read the thread.