Iberer Wins Group

Spain Knocks Out Uruguay! Is the Austrian National Team Next?

Alex Baena scored the 1-0 goal.(Bild: AFP/ULISES RUIZ)

With Uruguay, a two-time World Cup champion has already been eliminated in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup! A 0-1 loss to European champions Spain marked an early exit for the South Americans. Alex Baena scored in the 42nd minute for Spain, who will now face Austria as group winners.

As expected, Spain has secured first place in Group H at the World Cup in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. The European champions deservedly prevailed 1-0 (1-0) against Uruguay on Friday in Guadalajara, thereby sealing the South Americans’ early exit. The game was decided by a mistake by goalkeeper Fernando Muslera on a shot by Alex Baena (42nd minute). In the round of 32, the Spaniards will face the second-place team from Group J—either Austria or Algeria.

  The Spanish created scoring chances early on; just over a minute into the match, a shot by Mikel Oyarzabal was deflected for a corner. Subsequently, the favorites were unable to capitalize much on their dominance on the field, but were still able to celebrate thanks to Muslera’s mishap. The 40-year-old deflected what was actually a rather harmless shot by Baena into his own net. This continued a run of poor form in the final tournament, as he had also looked shaky on the three other goals conceded in the 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia and the 2-2 draw against Cape Verde.

Goalkeeper Change at Halftime
Uruguay struggled immensely to create chances up front; a long-range shot by Rodrigo Bentancur (36') and a clearance by Spain’s Aymeric Laporte in front of striker Darwin Núñez (45'+8) were the most notable moments. It was also a bitter blow that midfielder Manuel Ugarte had to be carried off the field after a collision. At halftime, head coach Marcelo Bielsa took his starting goalkeeper off the field, giving Sergio Rochet a chance to play. Rochet didn’t have to make any saves, as the Spanish were focused on skillfully holding onto their lead until the final whistle. Additionally, “super sub” Dani Olmo failed to connect properly with the ball from a prime position (63').

  Uruguay, for its part, gave it everything, especially in the closing minutes, but failed to create any clear-cut chances. Shots by Mathias Olivera (82') and Nicolas de la Cruz (85') posed no major problems for Unai Simon. On the other end, Ferran Torres hit the crossbar (86'). Agustin Canobbio brought the match to an inglorious end when he was shown a red card for a hard tackle on Pau Cubasi (95'). For head coach Marcelo Bielsa, who had already been heavily criticized, this will likely have been his final match in charge of the two-time world champions.

The Uruguayans are dejected.(Bild: AFP/ULISES RUIZ)

For the Spanish, who remain undefeated against Uruguay, the tournament continues on Thursday (9:00 p.m.) in Los Angeles following their second consecutive victory. Thanks to this victory, the co-favorites—who have yet to concede a goal in the tournament—were spared a matchup with world champions Argentina, who will now face Cape Verde.