Muslera Errors Cost Uruguay as Spain Win Group H With 1-0 Victory

Spain beat Uruguay 1-0 in Guadalajara on Saturday to win Group H and send the two-time World Cup winners home after a miserable group stage campaign. 

Alex Baena's 42nd-minute strike, which crept past a fumbling Fernando Muslera, was enough to settle the contest and eliminate Uruguay, who failed to win a single game across their three group matches. 

Spain top the group with seven points and will face the runners-up of Group J, either Austria or Algeria, in Los Angeles on July 2.

It was Muslera's third error leading to a goal at this tournament, making him the first goalkeeper on record since 1966 to concede three such mistakes at a single World Cup. Coach Marcelo Bielsa substituted the 40-year-old at half time, replacing him with Sergio Rochet, though the damage was already done. Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte was also stretchered off with an apparent knee injury in the first half, compounding a difficult evening for Bielsa's side.

The goal came in controversial circumstances. Uruguay players were furious that Spain had not put the ball out of play when Ugarte went down injured in the build-up. Baena swivelled inside the area and fired a low shot that Muslera got two hands on but could not keep out.

Spain controlled the second half without ever truly convincing. They managed just six shots in total and had less possession than Uruguay, the first time that has happened to La Roja in a World Cup match since 2002. Ferran Torres hit the crossbar late on as Spain pushed for a second, while Uruguay made a late push of their own but never seriously tested goalkeeper Unai Simon.

Darwin Nunez, restored to the starting XI, missed two good chances in quick succession just after the first-half hydration break. Uruguay were largely in the ascendency before Muslera's error but rarely threatened in the second half.

The match ended in further drama when Agustin Canobbio was sent off in stoppage time for a high challenge on Pau Cubarsi. Several Uruguay players had to escort him from the field, and he returned after the final whistle to confront the referee as some fans booed the team off the pitch.

Spain have now gone through the group stage without conceding a single goal, the first time they have managed that at a World Cup. However, with Lamine Yamal still being managed carefully due to a hamstring problem and the team yet to hit top gear, there is room for improvement ahead of the knockout rounds.

Uruguay finish third in Group H on two points, one behind Cape Verde, and do not have enough to advance as one of the eight best third-placed teams. It is a second consecutive World Cup group stage exit for the two-time champions and may prove to be the end of Bielsa's turbulent tenure as coach.

King Felipe VI of Spain was among the 45,065 crowd at Estadio Akron. A minute of silence was observed before kick-off in memory of the victims of back-to-back earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday.