The 2026 World Cup is barely into its group stage and it already has its first coaching feud. Cape Verde manager Pedro Leitao Brito, better known as Bubista, publicly criticized Uruguay’s Marcelo Bielsa after their Group H match ended 2-2 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The issue: Uruguay scored an equalizing goal while a Cape Verde player was down on the pitch, and Bielsa, a coach famous for his own dramatic fair play gestures in the past, did nothing to intervene.
What happened on the pitch
Cape Verde took the lead through Kevin Pina in the 21st minute. Uruguay responded before halftime through Maximiliano Araújo in the 44th minute, then took the lead deep into first-half stoppage time when Agustín Canobbio found the net in the 45th plus five. Helio Varela equalized for Cape Verde in the 61st minute.
During a key moment in the match, a Cape Verde player went down on the pitch, reportedly due to cramps or injury. Play continued, and Uruguay capitalized to score. Here’s the thing about Bielsa: this is the same coach who once ordered his Leeds United team to let an opponent score unopposed after his side had controversially scored while a player was injured. That 2019 incident became one of the most celebrated fair play moments in recent football history. So when Bubista saw the Argentine decline to extend the same courtesy in a World Cup match, the contradiction was hard to ignore.
