And here’s Sid Lowe’s match report from the game. Good night!
This is the second successive World Cup that Uruguay have gone out in the group stage – they finished third in a group that included Portugal, South Korea and Ghana last time around. This failure is a lot worse though: in 2022 they at least won a match and only went out on goals scored, and in a tougher group too.
Our own Nick Ames was on hand to witness some history in Houston this evening:
Who is in ... and out
Through to the last 32:
Mexico, South Africa, Switzerland, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Morocco, USA, Australia, Paraguay, Germany, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Egypt, Spain, Cape Verde, France, Norway, Argentina, Colombia, Portugal, England and Ghana.
Eliminated:
Czechia, Qatar, Haiti, Turkey, Curaçao, Tunisia, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan and Panama.
Third-place scenarios
My colleague Beau Dure has looked at the third-place scenarios after tonight’s match:
Shall we look at the third-place scenarios?
FINISHED PLAY
Sweden 4 pts
Ecuador 4
Bosnia 4
Paraguay 4 (they have now qualified)
Senegal 3 (+1 GD)
South Korea 3 (-1 GD)
Scotland 3 (-3 GD)
Uruguay 2 (-1 GD)
STILL TO COME
Group G: If Egypt (4 pts) beat Iran (2) and Belgium (2) beat New Zealand (1), Iran will be third with 2 pts. An Iranian win would complicate things. A draw would put Iran at 3 pts with a level goal difference, so they would slot in ahead of South Korea and Scotland if they end up in third.
Group J: If Austria and Algeria draw, they both advance – there’s some interesting history of note there (see 1982). If Austria beat Algeria by two goals, that’s more good news for Scotland.
Group K: A DR Congo-Uzbekistan draw would eliminate both teams. An Uzbekistan win would be too little too late unless they pile on the goals. DR Congo would almost certainly be third with a win and would advance.
Group L: Croatia-Ghana draw puts Croatia third with four points. A Croatia win puts Ghana third with four points. So the third-place teams will be hoping Croatia lose. They have a -1 goal difference, so a multi-goal loss would help Scotland.
More here:
One knock on effect of the result – England are guaranteed a place in the last-32:
Craig Tupper on the red card: “Love how Cucurella was calming influence in Nico foul. Even he thought this is all a bit much over nothing. We’ll not miss Uruguay.”
As for Spain, they did what they do well – controlling the match for large stretches of the evening. That meant a team who needed to win barely threatened. If there are concerns for Spain is that they only looked truly dangerous in one match in the group stage – against Saudi Arabia. And there were some sloppy passes this evening, although they would argue they didn't need to be perfect, and they can no doubt shift gears when they need to. Aaron Woolsey emails in with a few more thoughts on that:
“Perhaps the lethargy from Spain today is a result of it being their first match at elevation after training at a relatively low altitude for the past few weeks. Beware, team England! Mexico City is going to be a massive challenge (if they get there) simply due to the altitude!”
Canobbio is still arguing with the officials about his red card. What is he complaining about? Getting sent off for a studs up tackle? It’s hardly the refs’ fault Uruguay were largely dire in their last three matches.
There’s no disgrace in losing 1-0 to Spain – plenty of very good teams have done so. Uruguay really lost this World Cup when they failed to beat Cape Verde or Saudi Arabia. It’s allowed Cape Verde to write one of the best World Cup stories in many years though.
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Full time: Uruguay 0-1 Spain: Uruguay are out of the World Cup
That’s it. The two-time champions are out of a group that looked pretty easy when the draw was made. Spain win the group. And Cape Verde are into the knockout stage!
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Red card: Canobbio (94 min)
Canobbio goes in high with his studs up and he is correctly sent off. Just about sums up Uruguay’s tournament. Canobbio looks unhappy about that decision, I’ve no idea why.
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90 min + 3: De La Cruz is booked for a foul and shoving match with Nico Williams.
90 min +1: Four more minutes for Uruguay to save their World Cup.
90 min: Shout for a Uruguay penalty as Vinas goes down in the area but it’s actually Spain’s Dani Olmo who is fouled. Now, I’m no referee but I’m fairly sure you need to be the one getting fouled to win a penalty.
87 min: Ferran Torres rattles the bar after waltzing into space about 15 yards out. The skills was lovely, the finish not quite so much.
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85 min: Uruguay do not look as frantic as I’d like for a team who need to score to stay in the World Cup. Or do they? De la Cruz’s dipping shot tests Unai Simon. That’s probably what they should have started trying a while back.
83 min: Another Uruguay cross-shot. This one from Olivera and Unai Simon has to save at his near post. This is not a classic.
82 min: Canobbio cross shot is neither a cross or a shot (a crot? a shoss?) and it goes well over the bar.
80 min: Chance! Nearly! Nunez almost gets on to a through ball into the box but Unai Simon charges out to smother the threat.
77 min: It’s still 0-0 in the group’s other game. That means Cape Verde would go through as things stand. What a magnificent story if it pans out.
76 min: Nico Williams and Ferran Torres will be entering the field for your entertainment. Lamine Yamal and Oyarzabal are the men going off.
74 min: Dani Olmo spins wonderfully then plays a through ball, but there’s no one through. So it’s just a ball.
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72 min: Lamine Yamal strolls past a few Uruguay players because he can. But he’s hasn’t quite been at his best this evening, Uruguay have done a fairly good job of containing the teenager.
Hydration break email. And Justin Kavanagh likes his drinks with some literature:
“Eduardo Galeano – the great Uruguayan writer, journalist, and political activist famously wrote: I am… a beggar for good soccer. I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
“Although he claimed to not care who provided it, or whether a goal resulted, I’m sure Galeano’s spirit – sitting in purgatory along with all the Scottish faithful departe – —is rooting for only one team tonight, one pretty move, one elusive goal… for the love of God.”
67 min: This half has been much more open than the first. Perhaps because Uruguay have nothing to lose. The goalscorer, Alex Baena, is replaced by Pino. And with that … let’s hydrate!
65 min: Lamine Yamal twists some blood before laying the ball off to Dani Olmo. But the ball bobbles as it approaches him and he takes a strange wedge shot that scoops over the bar.
63 min: Dani Olmo skips into the area and there are appeals for a free-kick just outside the box but the ref waves play on. Spain will almost certainly win this group. They’ll face either Austria or Algeria in Los Angeles.
61 min: Spain have completed 400 passes to Uruguay’s 132.
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60 min: Spain subs: Dani Olmo and Fabian Ruiz trot on for Pedri and Merino.
58 min: Vinas on for Valverde. Uruguay will hope he gives them a more physical threat up front.
55 min: A big yelp from Lamine Yamal as Sanabria hacks him. He is correctly booked. I wonder if Spain will take the teenager off soon if Uruguay are feeling spicy.
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52 min: De La Cruz attempts a through ball to Canobbio but the pair don’t connect. Uruguay have been a little sparkier in this half but don’t start organising the winners parade in Montevideo just yet.
49 min: In tribute to the match being played in Guadalajara I will be ditching my Pepsi Zero for a Mexican Coke this half. The real sugar means it’s a health food. Talking of keepers, Uruguay’s best chance in this match has probably been to exploit the shaky Unai Simon. Something for Spain to think about going forward.
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46 min: Yikes, Rochet is on for Muslera. Yes, he let in the only shot on target in this match and he was bad in the other two matches but that’s a horrible way for his long World Cup – this is his fourth – career to end. Still, Bielsa doesn’t really do sentiment.
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My colleague Beau Dure is covering the Cape Verde v Saudi Arabia match. And at the moment it’s Cape Verde who are going through to face Argentina in the last 32. Here’s Beau on the match so far:
“Cape Verde social media icon Vozinha has made the only save of a sloppy first half, but the Blue Sharks were in the ascendancy in the last 15 minutes of the half and are poised to advance at the expense of Saudi Arabia. And Uruguay, apparently.”
You can follow the rest here:
Half-time emails:
Justin Kavanagh: “Is it too obvious to state that Uruguay have looked a little toothless up-front without Luis Suarez? Even the wisdom of Bielsa, with all his endless drilling, is not going to get them the crown.”
Paul Cockburn: “My coverage here in NZ jumped to commercial as the Spain goal went in. Was that a FIFA feed thing, or do I need to go and rage at our local people?”
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Half-time: Uruguay 0-1 Spain
Uruguay are heading out of the World Cup, and based on that performance – and their other two in this World Cup -they can’t complain too much. Yes, Spain are one of the best teams in the world but Uruguay have been curiously lifeless considering what is at stake. Spain have been … fine. They don’t need to get much from this match but neither did France, who pulverised Norway earlier in the today.
45 min: +7: Maxi Araujo whips in a free-kick but a Spanish head gets to it first. Uruguay have offered very li… Correction: Araujo has an excellent chance that Unai Simon dives to his right to pluck out the air.
45 min + 5: Oyarzabal thinks he has won a corner; he has not. Uruguay have done very little since conceding. They look pretty beaten, as they have for much of this World Cup.
45 min +1: Eight minutes of added time. Muslera is such an experienced player, it’s sad to see him make a terrible mistake like that in what will almost certainly be his last match. I could have seen Uruguay nicking a 1-0 win today based on early evidence. But this does not look like a team who will score twice in the next 45 minutes or so.
45 min: That was so sad that even Spain’s king, Felipe “Silver Fox” VI, looked guilty about it in the stands. To add injury to insult Ugarte is taken off injured, de la Cruz replaces him.
GOAL! Uruguay 0-1 Spain (Alex Baena 41 min)
Ouch, not a good way to concede a goal. Baena turns nicely and unleashes a shot that is very close to Muslera, who pats the ball into his own goal. That was up there with Scotland for gifting your opponent a goal in a crucial match.
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41 min: Oyarzabal has the wind knocked out of him. He’ll have to stand on the sidelines for a minute while he tries to locate it. He has a lot to say about that for a man with no wind.
39 min: Is Cucurella on the wrong team? “I like Spain, they’re exciting, but I struggle to back any team with Cucurella in it. He’d be a perfect fit in Bielsa’s team, his shithousery, his whole being feels culturally Uruguayan,” writes Chris Boys. Can we say “shithousery” in the Guardian? We can! Shithousery.
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37 min: Bentancur unleashes a clean strike that sails a few yards over. So not that clean then. Uruguay have been better since the drinks break. Definitely in the top teams on the pitch.
35 min: Oyarzabal almost gets his toe on a skimming Baena cross but Uruguay survive. Lamine Yamal then attempts to get past the entire population of Uruguay, and almost succeeds before being stopped by a 62-year-old office worker from Salto.
32 min: Canobbio dances away from Baena, who clatters him and we have a free-kick. Spain clear after an Unai Simon flap, he’s been a little unsteady today. “Spain coach de le Fuente gives strong FBI director Walter Skinner from the X-Files vibes. But what odd couple skeptic/believer pair does he need to keep an eye on in the Spain squad? Cucurella/Rodri?” asks Drew.
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29 min: We’re back with all parties hydrated. Nunez finds space on the wing and cuts inside. His cross is too close and Unai Simon claims it. That followed up an even clearer chance a few minutes earlier. Uruguay are easily the best team (in the last three minutes)
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25 min: Llorente gets into some space as Uruguay’s defenders stare at Lamine Yamal – he’s such a little scamp! – and his cross is almost picked up by Merino. Fernando Muslera shoots out to smother. And now we will have some drinks.
23 min: Spain, obviously, are pinging it around magnificently but there have been a few sloppy passes that have nearly been intercepted by Uruguay
21 min: Some panic for Uruguay after a wicked corner from Baena. Pau Cubarsi causes a few problems in the goalmouth but Bielsa’s men clear.
19 min: Pedri hands (not literally) the ball off to Lamine Yamal but his shot is blocked. Spain then stroke it out for a bit – not ideal for Uruguay who need to create something at some point.
16 min: Uruguay have started to make a few promising forays into the Spanish half. Araujo twists and turns on the left as he knifes towards the area but Spain stop him. At the other end, a Lamine Yamal cross is deflected for a corner, which Uruguay get away.
14 min: Pedri is down clutching his face after Bentancur clatters him. He’s fine to carry on though. Some dental updates: “If Suárez had played in the 1990 World Cup the biting would have been (just about) age appropriate,” writes emmling.
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12 min: A swinging ball out to Lamine Yamal on the wing in plenty of space but he’s strayed offside – he had plenty of time and room so not sure why he went early there.
9 min: Corner for Spain. It beats the first Uruguay defender at the near post but Bentancur clears.
7 min: Oooh. A chance. A free-kick for Uruguay and Unai Simon comes to claim it a mass of bodies but drops the ball. It skitters around the six-yard box before Spain clear.
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5 min: Uruguay make their first serious move into Spain’s half but a long hoof is gathered easily by Unai Simon. That could count as a shot on target if you were being very generous.
3 min: Hmmm, not a good start by Uruguay. Lamine Yamal picks up a poor backpass and Spain soon win a corner. It’s clear but that was sloppy from Uruguay in a match they need to win.
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1 min: A minute’s silence for the victims of Venezuela’s earthquake this week before kickoff. And then we’re off. Spain are in white and Uruguay in dark blue. Quite a horrible dark blue kit with sky blue blobs.
The national anthems. Uruguay sing their anthem heartily. Spain stand with lips sealed as theirs plays, mainly because it has no words. Next up: a game of football.
The players are out. Uruguay almost certainly need a win here to qualify for the next round. And if they go through as runners up, their reward would be a last-32 with … Argentina. Yikes.
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Justin Kavanagh writes in about the obscure Fifa bylaw I mentioned earlier. “Actually Tom, that Fifa bylaw has been rewritten just before this tournament: Now, if future hosts also qualify as winners, they must agree to be coached by Bielsa for the next four years, while being drug-tested once-a-week for anti-depressants. Also, they will only be allowed visitation rights to their hard-won trophy at its permanent residency at the Oval Office, once a month.”
Uruguay’s Bad Omen-ometer: HIGH ALERT – Spain have not lost in 33 games and have never lost when Lamine Yamal has started.
Just a reminder if you see Marcelo Bielsa on the apps DO NOT swipe. This from Sid Lowe’s preview of today’s game:
When Uruguay were beaten 5-1 by the USA in November, he described himself as “toxic”, admitting: “Those who have a relationship with me come out of it worse. There are toxic people who only see errors, who demand, who correct, who are never satisfied with anything, who only like to talk about work, who go to eat and take a newspaper with them because they don’t want to integrate with the rest. But do you know what that behaviour is based on? Fear. One doesn’t enjoy winning; he fears losing much more.”
Or maybe just agree to meet up for a drink and store it away for a fun story. Don’t go on a second date though.
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Uruguay’s build-up to this World Cup was not good (apart, obviously, from the bit where they qualified) and they lost 5-1 to the US in one of their friendlies. It hasn’t got much better at the tournament proper after two draws against solid but no world beating opponents. And now all they need to do is beat Spain. Yeah, that Spain.
Inside information on Spain: my partner* is Spanish so let’s get her verdict:
Q: What do you think of Spain’s campaign so far?
A: What do you mean by campaign?
Q: Their World Cup so far, how is it going?
A: Oh great, yeah – we’re going to win.
There you have it.
*Partner’s permission to use this interview was sought before publication.
Senegal put the hurt on Iraq earlier today, refusing to score a bad goal. It’s well worth looking at the highlights on whichever Infantino-approved replay is available to you – the result may be enough to put Senegal through as one of the best third-placed teams. You can also read our match report and just imagine the goals – they may even be better that way:
Team news
A few changes for each team. For Spain, Marcos Llorente replaces Pedro Porro in defence, while Mikel Merino and Alex Baena are in Dani Olmo and Nico Williams. Marcelo Bielsa has Fernando Muslera in goal and Darwin Nunez leading the line.
Uruguay: Fernando Muslera; Sebastian Caceres, Guillermo Varela, Mathias Olivera; Manuel Ugarte, Rodrigo Bentancur, Federico Valverde, Agustin Canobbio, Maxi Araujo, Juan Manuel Sanabria; Darwin Nunez. Subs: Rochet, Mele, Gimenez, Ronald Araujo, de la Cruz, de Arrascaeta, Pellistri, Martinez, Vina, Rodriguez, Aguirre, Vinas, Piquerez, Bueno, Zalazar.
Spain: Unai Simon; Marcos Llorente, Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsi, Marc Cucurella; Mikel Merino, Alex Baena, Rodri, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Olmo, Pino, Porro, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Referee: Ismail Elfath (USA)
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Fun fact, courtesy of Sid Lowe: Uruguay have not won a World Cup game without Luis Suárez since 1990 (just to clarify, Suárez did not play in the 1990 World Cup as he was three years old and he’s not that good). Suárez is not in the squad for this World Cup.
Are Spain the best team at the World Cup? No! Because the Fifa rankings say they’re No 3 in the world, and those rankings are in no way flawed. They are, however, probably among the top two contenders, aside from France. And the French just gave everyone’s favourite dark horse, Norway, one hell of a beating. How much we can read into that is debatable – Norway rested 10 players – but the French still won 4-1 and looked very crisp. So Spain may want to put on a dominant display tonight to gather some momentum as they head to the knockouts. Or they could just do the PSG method and mess around until it really matters and then become unbeatable.
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Good news for Uruguay! Even if they do get thrashed by Spain tonight and end up going out, they’re guaranteed a place in the 2030 World Cup due to the fact that they are co-hosts. And by co-hosts, I mean they’re hosting exactly one match. No one is saying that it’s easier than ever to qualify for the World Cup but …
Spain are also guaranteed a place at the 2030 World Cup due to the fact that they’re another of the 38 tournament co-hosts. What happens if Spain or Uruguay win this World Cup? Do they qualify for 2030 automatically twice – as winners and hosts? Interestingly, under an obscure Fifa bylaw, they do. They get to field two teams, but each player is only allowed to play with one leg and has to wear a hat made of bees to make things fairer. Should be interesting!
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Preamble
This World Cup has suffered a little from its expanded format - there have been few heavyweight clashes but I guess two former champions battling for first place in the group counts. Here’s what’s at stake tonight in Guadalajara (and the rest of Group G):
Spain will guarantee qualification with a draw or win against Uruguay.
Uruguay need to beat Spain to absolutely guarantee qualification. A draw could be enough but it would be close.
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Tom will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s your initial briefing on this matchup, courtesy of Graham Ruthven’s daily watch guide:
What to watch for
Uruguay haven’t played much like a Bielsa team at this World Cup so far. The 1930 and 1950 winners have struggled for creativity and have been one-dimensional in the final third in draws against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia. To make the knockout rounds, Uruguay must show more variety.
Spain bounced back from their underwhelming opener against Cape Verde to put four past Saudi Arabia. Lamine Yamal’s return gave the European champions a much-needed direct threat, which opened up space and restored faith that Spain will be as strong as was predicted before the start of the tournament.
Player to watch: Lamine Yamal, Spain – The 18-year-old is Spain’s biggest difference-maker and the player who makes everything click for them in the final third. Without him, they simply don’t have the necessary invention.
