GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Spain defeated Uruguay 1-0 after another goalkeeping mistake by Fernando Muslera, with La Roja advancing to the knockout stage of the World Cup while eliminating the traditional South American powerhouse Friday night.
Uruguay, a two-time champion of the quadrennial tournament for global men’s soccer, will go home without any victories in its three Group H games at this 48-team World Cup taking place in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Spain, the reigning European champion, won the group with seven points and will face the Group J runner-up — either Algeria or Austria — next Thursday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Álex Baena scored in the 42nd minute at Estadio Akron after Muslera couldn’t fully swat away his shot from inside the area. It was the third blunder of the tournament by the 40-year-old keeper, who asked Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa to substitute for him at halftime. Sergio Rochet came in to start the second half.
“He is the one who decided to leave,” Bielsa said.
The veteran coach from Argentina said he feels like Uruguay deserved better luck considering its performances, and should have earned seven points instead of two from its group matches — but he took full responsibility for La Celeste’s failure.
“No one wants to listen to explanations now,” Bielsa said. “The blame is on me. I’m the one responsible for the disappointing work that I did. I had a group of quality players.”
At 19th in the FIFA rankings, Uruguay is the highest-ranked team to be eliminated so far.
“Every match is different, and you have to win every type of match,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. “This was a game with maximum difficulty.”
De la Fuente said midfielder Yéremy Pino likely suffered a broken collarbone that would sideline him for the rest of the tournament, which concludes with the championship final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Pino, who entered the match in the 66th minute, stayed on until the end despite the injury because Spain had already made all five substitutions allowed.
Cape Verde, which played Saudi Arabia to a 0-0 draw in Friday’s other Group H finale at NRG Stadium in Houston, finished second in the group with three points, one more than both Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. Uruguay finished third but without enough points to be among the best eight third-place teams that will advance to the knockout phase that starts next week with the round of 32.
A few of Uruguay’s players cried on the field after the final whistle. Many fans booed the team as it left.
The match was one of the most anticipated of the group stage, but it featured few significant scoring chances by either team.
“I’m very proud of all the work that we have done,” Baena said. “We competed very well.”
Uruguay players loudly advocated for a penalty in the final minutes after Federico Viñas went down inside the area.
There was some tension near the end. Uruguay’s Agustín Canobbio was sent off in stoppage time after being shown a red card for his tackle on Spain defender Paul Cubarsi. Canobbio’s teammates had to escort him off the field, and after the final whistle, he returned to try to talk to the referee.
Uruguay, the World Cup winner in 1930 and 1950, came into the final group match in turmoil after draws against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. Uruguayan media said there were reports of players not being happy with Bielsa, who took charge of the national team in March 2023.
It was the second time Bielsa coached a World Cup team that didn’t advance past the group stage, following Argentina’s debacle in the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. He helped Chile reach the round of 16 of the tournament in South Africa in 2010 for his best World Cup result.
The 70-year-old coach’s voice had a farewell tone Friday regarding his time with La Celeste.
“What do I leave for Uruguayan soccer?” he said. “Nothing, because any contribution that a coach might make to soccer in a country after three years of work never truly takes hold if results aren’t achieved. Fourth place in the qualifiers didn’t count for much, and a third-place finish in the Copa América didn’t, either. And there is obviously no need to spell it out after what happened now.
“A tenure that left nothing behind.”
Spain, seeking its second World Cup title, opened with a shocking 0-0 draw against Cape Verde but was coming off a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia. La Roja haven’t made it past the round of 16 since winning their lone title in 2010.
Spain striker Lamine Yamal, who entered the tournament nursing a left hamstring injury, had a lackluster outing and again didn’t play the entire match, being replaced by Ferran Torres in the 76th minute. The 18-year-old Yamal was replaced at halftime against Saudi Arabia and came off the bench in the second half against Cape Verde.
Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte had to replaced because of an apparent knee injury near the end of the first half. Ugarte was on the ground seeking medical assistance when Spain opened the scoring, and he was eventually taken off the field on a stretcher.
King Felipe VI of Spain was among the crowd of 45,065 at Estadio Akron. A moment of silence was observed before the match in memory of those who died when back-to-back earthquakes struck Venezuela late Wednesday.