Uruguay 0-1 Spain: Muslera howler hands La Roja group glory as Uruguay crash out

Spain avoided a last-32 showdown with defending champions Argentina by the narrowest of margins connected Friday night, but Luis de la Fuente volition person seen precious small to observe beyond the result. Álex Baena's 42nd-minute strike, talented by a Fernando Muslera blunder, proved the lone extremity of the crippled arsenic La Roja crushed retired a profoundly unconvincing 1-0 triumph successful Guadalajara. 

Two-time winners Uruguay depart arsenic the highest-ranked broadside to clang retired successful the radical stage, their miserable run haunted by the aforesaid recurring nightmare: a goalkeeper who outgo them dearly each clip the unit was highest.

Uruguay 0-1 Spain: What conscionable happened?

For the opening 40 minutes, Uruguay were adjacent to perfect. They had surrendered conscionable 2 shots, threatened connected the antagonistic done speedy transitions, and Darwin Núñez squandered their clearest chance, opting for an audacious back-heel erstwhile cleanable done connected goal.

Then came the infinitesimal that decided everything. Marcos Llorente delivered a transverse into the box, wherever Baena arrived to occurrence a debased first-time finish, but Muslera — getting some hands to the shot — could lone swat it into his ain net. To compound Uruguay's misery, Manuel Ugarte was stretchered disconnected successful the build-up to the extremity with what appeared to beryllium a superior genu injury.

Muslera was replaced astatine half-time by Sergio Rochet, with Bielsa aboriginal revealing the determination came from the goalkeeper himself. The 2nd fractional was a warfare of attrition alternatively than football. Uruguay pressed guardant but kept losing possession successful the last third, incapable to trial Unai Simón with thing beyond long-range efforts. Ferran Torres should person killed the contention with 5 minutes remaining but struck the crossbar with the extremity astatine his mercy. The nighttime ended successful implicit ignominy erstwhile Agustín Canobbio received a consecutive reddish paper for a reckless studs-up situation connected Pau Cubarsí heavy successful stoppage time. 

?? Spain person qualified for the Round of 32!#FIFAWorldCup

Uruguay 0-1 Spain: The large talking point

The communicative of this lucifer — and of Uruguay's full tourney — is Fernando Muslera. The goalkeeper, who made his World Cup debut backmost successful 2010, had already conceded 3 goals crossed the archetypal 2 radical games, some of which ended successful draws. His fumble against Baena, a tame, cardinal effort that helium managed to thenar into his ain net, was the defining representation of a catastrophic campaign.

Reports of a revolt wrong the Uruguay dressing country had already emerged earlier kick-off, with starring players including Federico Valverde clashing with Bielsa implicit tactics. The Real Madrid prima was visibly upset erstwhile helium was substituted aboriginal successful the 2nd fractional — a infinitesimal that captured the dysfunction moving done a squad that arrived successful North America with genuine knockout ambitions. 

Uruguay 0-1 Spain: The bigger picture

Spain's show against Uruguay mirrored their opening gully with Cape Verde: a ascendant broadside connected insubstantial suffocated by a heavy antiaircraft block, incapable to make clear-cut chances and reliant connected idiosyncratic errors alternatively than their ain attacking quality. Lamine Yamal, cautiously managed aft an aboriginal extremity to his nine season, was subdued for agelong stretches. The teen showed lone flashes of his accustomed brilliance arsenic Uruguay's players hunted him relentlessly.

De la Fuente's determination to commencement Mikel Merino and Marcos Llorente implicit Dani Olmo and Pedro Porro added physicality but blunted Spain's originative edge. It was lone aft Olmo and Fabián Ruiz came disconnected the seat that Spain yet showed thing resembling their champion shot — though adjacent then, it amounted to small much than flickers.

Cape Verde, meanwhile, drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia to decorativeness 2nd successful the radical connected 3 points, securing a historical first-ever knockout-stage quality astatine a World Cup — and a day with Argentina arsenic their reward. 

Uruguay 0-1 Spain: What happens next?

Spain volition look either Austria oregon Algeria successful Los Angeles successful the Round of 32 connected Thursday — a importantly much palatable imaginable than the Messi-led defending champions they sidestepped by finishing apical of the group. Whether de la Fuente's broadside tin find a higher cogwheel by past remains the pressing question.

Uruguay, meanwhile, are heading home. They depart without a azygous win, having drawn against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde earlier falling to Spain — a illness that volition inevitably trigger a reckoning implicit Bielsa's methods, his goalkeeper selections, and the fractures that reportedly divided his squad agelong earlier the last whistle blew successful Guadalajara.