MIAMI — When the World Cup draw first came out, Sunday’s group stage game in Miami between two-time champion Uruguay and tournament debutant Cape Verde did not seem like a particularly compelling matchup.

By halftime on Sunday, that once humdrum-seeming matchup had captivated the 64,003 fans in attendance and become must-see TV for those watching at home. It ended in a 2-2 tie after a roller-coaster of a game, leaving both teams desperate for a win in their Group H finales on Friday night.

The first sign that this was going to be a more intriguing match than expected came Monday, when Cape Verde and its 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha became early darlings of the World Cup after holding European champion Spain, one of the tournament favorites, to a scoreless draw in their opening match.

And then, in the 21st minute of Sunday’s game, after Kevin Pina split Uruguay’s wall with a 77 mph, 34-yard free kick, giving Cape Verde the lead, there was no doubt this game was going to be exciting.

The sea of light blue Uruguayan fans went silent as a smattering of Cape Verde fans around the stadium erupted and waved their flags. Could this be happening? Could one of the tiniest nations in this World Cup hold their own against two heavyweights back-to-back?

The Cape Verde lead lasted 23 minutes until Uruguay’s Maxi Araujo scored the equalizer on a header from close range. He is the same player who saved Uruguay from embarrassment on opening day, scoring the late equalizer against Saudi Arabia.

Uruguayan fans, relieved to be back in the game, celebrated and then went wild when Agustin Canobbio pushed the team ahead 2-1 in the sixth-minute of first-half added time, just before the halftime whistle. Uruguayan legend and Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez watched from a suite and cheered for both goals.

The game got even spicier at the 61-minute mark, when Cape Verde tied it 2-2 on an open net goal by second-half substitute Helio Varela, who pounced on a bad pass from Uruguayan defender Mathias Olivera and beat stranded goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.

The Blue Sharks celebrated that goal as if they had just won the game, and that jubilation continued after the final whistle. Even though the game ended deadlocked, it felt like a victory for the Cape Verdeans, who ran toward their fan section to enjoy the moment with their fans. The Uruguayan players trudged off the field quickly, clearly disappointed to settle for a tie on two games they expected to win.

The Cape Verdean hero of the Spain game was Blue Sharks goalkeeper Josimar José Évora Dias, known as “Vozinha,” which means Granny in Portuguese. He made seven saves against Spain and his Instagram following grew from 40,000 to 15 million. He endeared himself to fans everywhere when he revealed that his mother, Ana Candida Evora, had been unable to attend the game because of visa complications.

With the help of the U.S. State Department, Evora received an expedited visa, and on Thursday flew to Miami from the island nation off the Western African coast. She arrived at Hard Rock Stadium (de-branded as Miami Stadium due to FIFA sponsorship rules) about an hour before kickoff and entered the stadium through the VIP entrance.

The rest of the world was just introduced to Cape Verde’s plucky World Cup team and its 40-year-old keeper this week but Cape Verdeans in the diaspora have been fans of the Tubaroes Azuis (Blue Sharks) for a long time.

“I am so happy that Vozinho got what he deserves, known worldwide now, almost 15 million [Instagram] followers,” said Djamila Dossantos, 28, of Boston, who traveled to Miami for Sunday’s game.

“We have a lot of pressure on him now to really perform and show us what he’s got again, but I think he’s been amazing. For the first time on Instagram, they made somebody famous who deserves it. I knew about him before, but honestly, with that game against Spain, they shocked the world and we’re here to shock them again.”

Dossantos was born in Cape Verde and came to the United States when she was eight years old. She still has family there and feels a deep connection with the island nation of the West African coast. Her friends who joined her were from Boston and Rhode Island, both of which have strong Cape Verdean communities.

They arrived at the stadium at 3 p.m. ET and gathered with thousands of fans in the Fan Zone on a sunny, sweltering Father’s Day. The Cape Verdeans, in dark blue and red, were heavily outnumbered by Uruguayans decked head to toe in sky blue and white, but they said they have faith their team could pull another surprise.

“We’re a small island, maybe only 1% of the fans, but we have 99% faith,” said Carla B. Monteiro, a Cape Verdean who lives in Rhode Island.

Uruguayan fans, meanwhile, believed their team would play better on Sunday than it did in a frustrating 1-1 opening tie against Saudi Arabia and that they would celebrate a much-needed victory over the underdog Cape Verde.

A win against Cape Verde would have all but guaranteed Uruguay’s advancement to the Round of 32. A draw or a loss would have placed severe pressure on them heading into a difficult group finale against Spain, which beat Saudi Arabia 4-0 earlier on Sunday.

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