Rare offside call denies Uruguay a World Cup win

Uruguay were held to a 2-2 draw with Cape Verde on Saturday in the second round of the 2026 World Cup group stage, after a late goal that appeared to secure victory was disallowed following a dramatic VAR review.

The decisive incident came in the 68th minute, when Uruguay thought it had completed a comeback and taken a vital lead. After a lengthy check, officials ruled the goal offside in an unusual situation that initially seemed impossible, because a Cape Verde defender appeared to be standing almost on the goal line.

The key detail was that Uruguay player Maxi Araujo was outside the field near the touchline. Under the laws of the game, that means he is considered to be standing on the goal line, which made the offside ruling correct despite the surprise it caused among fans and on social media.

For Uruguay, the result left it with only two points after two matches and badly complicated its path to the knockout stage. Instead of securing a first win of the tournament, the team settled for another draw and now faces a difficult final group match against Spain.