Spain reached the World Cup knockout stage as Group H winners after Alex Baena scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Uruguay at Estadio Guadalajara on Thursday. Luis de la Fuente’s side controlled possession, limited Uruguay’s chances and closed out the result to finish top of the group.
The result also ended Uruguay’s tournament after Cape Verde’s draw with Saudi Arabia left Marcelo Bielsa’s team short of the points needed to progress. Spain now move on to a last-32 meeting with the runners-up from Group J.
Spain started with control of the ball but found little space in the final third. Uruguay sat deep and looked to hit on transitions through Darwin Nunez and Federico Valverde. Lamine Yamal carried much of Spain’s attacking threat but Juan Manuel Sanabria kept him quiet for long spells.
Rodrigo Bentancur almost handed Spain an early opening when he misplaced a pass near his own box. Uruguay recovered, but neither side created many clear chances in a cautious first half.
Spain finally found a breakthrough three minutes before the break. Marcos Llorente drove forward and picked out Baena, whose effort slipped through Fernando Muslera and rolled into the corner. Spain had controlled possession for much of the half and eventually found a mistake to punish.
Uruguay made a goalkeeper change at the break as Sergio Rochet replaced Muslera. The change failed to alter the pattern of the game.
Spain should have extended their lead after the hour when Yamal found Dani Olmo in space, but the substitute fired over. Ferran Torres then struck the crossbar late on after beating Mathias Olivera inside the area.
Uruguay never built sustained pressure. Spain closed passing lanes, protected the centre of the pitch and gave little away. Their defence continued a strong run in the tournament and again prevented opponents from testing Unai Simon.
Uruguay’s evening worsened in stoppage time when Agustin Canobbio saw a straight red card after a high challenge on Pau Cubarsi.
Spain did not produce their most fluent attacking display, but they controlled the game and collected the result they needed.
