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Day 17: Cape Verde Make History as Uruguay Crash Out

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Some days the World Cup hands you a tidy result. Day 17 handed you the whole arc of the thing — a country of half a million people dancing into the knockouts on their tournament debut, and a two-time world champion trudging out the same door it came in. Cape Verde up, Uruguay down, in the same group, on the same night. You couldn’t script it.

This was the day the group stage essentially clocked off. Four groups still had business to settle — G, H, K and L — and by the time the last whistle went in Atlanta, 11 of the 12 groups were done and dusted. Only Lionel Messi’s Group J was left to report (that finished the following day). Spain, Colombia and England all topped their groups with seven points; Belgium, Egypt and Croatia booked their tickets; and two of the eight best third-placed teams came from this very slate. Here’s how it all shook out — live tables and the full bracket are over on whatsthescore.football.

Group H: Cape Verde write history, Uruguay write their own obituary

Start where the night will be remembered. In Houston, Cape Verde drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia — and that single point, their third draw in three games, made the Blue Sharks the smallest nation by population ever to reach a World Cup knockout round. Per BBC Sport, this is a country of around 525,000 people, playing in its first ever World Cup, qualifying ahead of Cameroon to even get here. They held Spain. They came from behind to draw with Uruguay. And when they couldn’t break down the Saudis — Cape Verde had the better of it, 15 shots to 7 — they held their nerve anyway, because the maths elsewhere was breaking their way.

That maths was being settled 2,000 miles south in Guadalajara, where Spain beat Uruguay 1-0 to win the group. The goal was grim from a Uruguayan point of view: Álex Baena’s tame effort on 42 minutes squirmed through veteran goalkeeper Fernando Muslera and over the line. Marcelo Bielsa hauled Muslera off at half-time, pulled captain Fede Valverde before the hour, and watched it curdle completely when Agustín Canobbio was sent off in stoppage time for a wild lunge on Pau Cubarsí. “I gave Uruguayan football nothing,” Bielsa told reporters afterward, per Sky Sports — a brutal self-assessment from a man whose side mustered two points and never looked like more.

Uruguay’s two points left them third, level with bottom side Saudi Arabia, and short of even a best-third lifeline. As France 24 noted, the two-time champions became the highest-ranked side to fall in the group stage — their second straight early exit after Qatar. Spain, meanwhile, ground out a third clean sheet and, per Opta, finished a World Cup group stage without conceding for the first time in their history. There was a delicious sub-plot, too: by topping the group, Luis de la Fuente’s side sidestepped Argentina in the last 32. The runners-up date with Messi went, instead, to Cape Verde — a meeting in Miami the islanders will treasure. “I’ve always said that sooner or later Cape Verde would be on such a stage,” coach Pedro “Bubista” Leitão Brito said. They believed it before anyone else did.

Group G: Belgium finally roar, Egypt survive the chaos

Belgium had stumbled through two flat draws and arrived in Vancouver needing a win and, ideally, a statement. They got both. Belgium 5, New Zealand 1 was as emphatic as the scoreline suggests — 34 shots, an xG north of 3.5, and a forward line that finally clicked. Leandro Trossard bagged a first-half opener and a second early after the break; Kevin De Bruyne drilled in a third from distance (becoming, per beIN Sports, the oldest player to score for Belgium at a World Cup at 34); and substitute Romelu Lukaku came on in the 85th minute and headed home within 60 seconds before teeing up Alexis Saelemaekers in stoppage time. Elijah Just’s 84th-minute strike was a footnote — and the All Whites, the lowest-ranked side in the tournament, head home still chasing a first ever World Cup win. “We’re number one,” a satisfied Trossard said. “We’re all ready to deliver.”

That demolition mattered to the team across the country in Seattle, because Egypt and Iran drew 1-1 in a finale that had everything. Mahmoud Saber turned in a rebound inside five minutes; Mehdi Taremi then had a penalty saved by Mostafa Shobeir; and Ramin Rezaeian levelled on 14 — a goal that, per Opta, made him Iran’s all-time leading World Cup scorer. Mohamed Salah, needing one more to equal coach Hossam Hassan’s national scoring record, was withdrawn on 57 minutes with ice strapped to his leg — the fewest minutes he’s ever played in a World Cup game. And then the gut-punch for Iran: deep in stoppage time, Shoja Khalilzadeh bundled the ball home, only for VAR to rule a toe offside. Belgium’s romp meant Egypt’s point was enough to go through second; Iran, three draws and no defeats, were left agonisingly on the wrong side of the third-place cut.

Group L: England and Croatia do enough

England were not pretty in New Jersey, but they were efficient. England 2, Panama 0 was settled by a sharp 12-minute burst: Jude Bellingham stabbed in Bukayo Saka’s corner on 62, then dinked a cross onto Harry Kane’s head five minutes later. That header carried real weight — it was Kane’s 11th World Cup goal, moving him past Gary Lineker as England’s all-time leading scorer at the finals (FotMob), and his fourth against Panama, the most any England player has scored against a single opponent. Bellingham, with a goal and an assist, became the youngest England player since 1966 to do both in a World Cup match. Thomas Tuchel’s side topped the group; Panama went home with no points and no goals, but plenty of pride after a fearless shift.

The result that shaped the rest of the group came in Philadelphia, where Croatia edged Ghana 2-1. Petar Sučić curled Croatia ahead on 31 from Mateo Kovačić’s pass; Derrick Luckassen levelled after the break, sweeping in Ernest Nuamah’s free-kick. And then the moment that belongs in the archive: Luka Modrić, 40 years old, floated in an 83rd-minute corner that Nikola Vlašić headed off the inside of the post. Per AP, that assist made Modrić the oldest player in World Cup history to set up a goal. Croatia finished second; Ghana, already safe on four points, took third and a best-third berth — a finish that, with cruel symmetry, ended Scotland’s faint hopes elsewhere.

Group K: Colombia win the marquee group, DR Congo gatecrash

The hottest ticket of the group stage delivered tension if not goals. Colombia and Portugal drew 0-0 at a sweltering Hard Rock Stadium, where Yahoo Sports reported secondary-market seats running from $3,200 to $17,000 — a Cristiano Ronaldo farewell tour will do that. Colombia were the better team by a distance: 24 shots, six on target, 1.63 xG to Portugal’s 0.69. They have Diogo Costa to thank that it stayed level, the Portugal keeper making six saves — more than in his first two games combined — including a crucial stop to deny Jhon Córdoba. Colombia even thought they’d won it in stoppage time before Dávinson Sánchez was flagged offside. The point was enough for the Cafeteros to top the group (their first ever goalless World Cup draw, per Al Jazeera); Ronaldo, 41 and in what he’s said is his last World Cup, couldn’t find a way through, and Portugal settled for second.

And in Atlanta, the night’s final act was a comeback. DR Congo beat Uzbekistan 3-1 to claim third and a knockout place — the Leopards’ first ever World Cup victory. Eldor Shomurodov put Uzbekistan ahead inside 10 minutes and DR Congo had an equaliser chalked off by VAR, but Newcastle striker Yoane Wissa dragged them back: a 68th-minute penalty after Abdukodir Khusanov bundled him over, then a stoppage-time arrow into the far corner to complete his brace. Substitute Fiston Mayele supplied the 78th-minute go-ahead goal in between. Sébastien Desabre’s side go through as a best third — and, per Flashscore, their four points knocked South Korea out of the running. Uzbekistan exit their maiden World Cup pointless, but far from disgraced.

The standings: who’s through, who’s gone

Four groups, eight tickets punched, and a few hearts broken. The final tables from Day 17:

  • Group G: Belgium (1st), Egypt (2nd). Iran and New Zealand out.
  • Group H: Spain (1st), Cape Verde (2nd). Uruguay and Saudi Arabia out.
  • Group K: Colombia (1st), Portugal (2nd), DR Congo (3rd, best-third). Uzbekistan out.
  • Group L: England (1st), Croatia (2nd), Ghana (3rd, best-third). Panama out.

The expanded format’s safety net — the eight best third-placed teams — was the difference between celebration and a flight home. Ghana (four points) and DR Congo (four points) cleared the bar comfortably. Iran’s three draws (three points) and Uruguay’s two points did not, and both join New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Panama and Uzbekistan on the way out. Funny competition, this: the same rule that ushered tiny Cape Verde into the last 32 couldn’t save a two-time champion.

What’s next

The knockouts begin on Sunday, June 28, with the first Round of 32 tie — South Africa against Canada — and the schedule is loaded from there. Among the ties set up by Day 17’s results: Belgium meet Senegal and England face DR Congo on July 1; Portugal take on Croatia on July 2; Egypt play Australia and Cape Verde get their date with Argentina in Miami on July 3; and Colombia square off with Ghana on July 4. Spain, having dodged Argentina, await a Group J runner-up in Los Angeles. The group stage gave us its fairy tale. Now the real jeopardy starts.

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