A lone goal from Álex Baena was enough for Spain to claim a 1–0 victory over Uruguay to win Group H, but it was anything but a vintage performance on Friday.
La Roja had just seemed to find their form after a dominant 4–0 win over Saudi Arabia last time out, but any progress was promptly stalled in Guadalajara. Despite dominating possession from the opening whistle, Luis de la Fuente’s men were uncreative and complacent, struggling to get much of anything going against a Uruguay side that did not have a win to its name at the 2026 World Cup.
