Maccabi Tel Aviv's Helio Varela Makes World Cup History for Cape Verde and Israel

Maccabi Tel Aviv winger Helio Varela made history at the World Cup when he scored for Cape Verde in a 2-2 draw with Uruguay overnight between Sunday and Monday. The equalizer came in the 62nd minute, just four minutes after Varela entered the match, after he capitalized on a major Uruguay defensive mistake and a poor outing from goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.

It was Varela’s first goal for Cape Verde in any competition, coming in his 22nd appearance for the national team across all formats. The goal was significant not only for Cape Verde, which continued to impress in the tournament and earned a valuable point, but also for Israel, because Varela became the first non-Israeli player from the Israeli league to score at a World Cup.

The previous player from the Israeli league to score in a World Cup was Maccabi Netanya legend Moti Spiegler, who netted Israel’s only goal against Sweden at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Over the years, the Israeli Premier League has had 18 international representatives in World Cup matches, including three in the current tournament.

Those three are Varela, and Maccabi Haifa’s Kenji Gora and Abdoulaye Seck. Among them, Varela was the first to find the net.