Uruguay 0-1 Spain - 2026 World Cup Match Report and Player Ratings

Muslera Mistake Punished as Uruguay Bomb Out

Uruguay have officially been eliminated from Group H at the 2026 World Cup after suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat to Spain - they do finish third on two points, but it will not be enough for them to go through as one of the best third-place teams.

It was another massive mistake from Fernando Muslera which allowed Alex Baena to find the back of the net en route to what ended up being a comfortable 1-0 win.

After taking just two points from their opening two games in Group H, Uruguay came into this clash knowing that only a win would definitely confirm their spot in the knockouts, while Spain knew that avoiding defeat would almost certainly mean they top the group.

🚨 FINAL: Group H

1⃣ Spain → RO32 vs Austria/Algeria
2⃣ Cape Verde → RO32 vs Argentina
3⃣ Uruguay OUT
4⃣ Saudi Arabia OUT pic.twitter.com/3jUmrZcsQg

— Sports on Predict (@predictdotsport) June 27, 2026

Uruguay 0-1 Spain as it Happened

As Sia's Titanium rung out in front of a packed 45,000 spectators and the line "nothin' to lose" really hit home for Uruguay coming into this fixture seeing as they failed to defeat either one of Cabo Verde or Saudi Arabia, meaning only victory over Spain would secure passage to the last 32.

It was almost a nightmare start for Uruguay too, as Rodrigo Bentancur made a mistake that was pounced upon by Lamine Yamal, but his pass into Mikel Oyarzabal meant little as the La Celeste defence recovered to block the cross.

After a cagey start, once the game began to open up, it was all Spain and quickly began racking up more shots, causing issues for the Uruguayan backline. Fernando Muslera has been known to make a mistake or two on the world stage, and Spain were beginning to test him through looping crosses and pop shots, just trying to test the waters of the 40-year-old.

Uruguay did find their first chance after the hydration break. Federico Valverde caught possession down the right side off Rodri, but his cross towards Nunez was not quite met by the ex-Liverpool forward, although many may believe he should have done better.

The first real chance which started to give the Uruguay fans something promising came in the 35th minute. Some tidy play in midfield by Maxi Araujo saw the ball go to Bentancur, but his fired shot from 25 yards was always heading skywards.

About Muslera being prone to mistakes? Well, one happened soon after. Yamal and Pedri's efforts in midfield found Marcos Llorente on the right flank; the full-back played in a relatively poor grounded cross, and Alex baena was on hand to get in front of the blue defenders and take a shot which was practically straight at Muslera, but he fumbled the save and bounced slowly into the corner.

Things went from bad to worse before the restart too, as Manuel Ugarte had to be stretchered off after something which occurred in the build up. Uruguay did come close to an equaliser, but Aymeric Laporte did very well to get to Araujo's cross in the nick of time to keep them in front.

Half-Time Score: Uruguay 0-1 Spain

Uruguay came out of the tunnel for the second half knowing they would have to force the issue, but Spain just kept their tight structure at the back, not allowing for any good opportunities to come with it. La Celeste made some brave changes at the half too, taking off Muslera, as well as Valverde towards the hour mark to bring on fresh legs.

Spain had a great chance to make it two past the hour. Yamal received the ball in the optimal position - a one-on-one with Juan Sanabria. He cut in well with his left foot before playing a pass across to Dani Olmo, but his effort was just poor as it rose miserably over the goal.

Uruguay began to have to battle really hard for opportunities as the game progressed, and almost caught Unai Simon off guard with 10 minutes to go. Brian Rodriguez worked well down the left side before finding Mathias Olivera. The Napoli defender's cross turned into a shot and almost snuck into the near post if it wasn't to be denied by Simon.

It was shortly after where Uruguay did line up a decent effort. Nicolas de la Cruz received the ball in the middle and lined up an audacious shot from 25 yards, but Simon was more than equal to it.

Spain then had a chance to seal the deal, after a clean one-two between Ferran Torres and Fabian Ruiz left the former with a simple one-on-one against Sergio Rochet, but his effort bounced off the crossbar.

The last events just showed off Uruguay's frustrations this summer, as Agustin Canobbio saw red for an awfully late challenge on Pau Cubarsi.

Full-Time Score: Uruguay 0-1 Spain

🚨 OFFICIAL LINEUPS FOR 🇺🇾 URUGUAY 🆚 SPAIN 🇪🇸

De La Fuente opts for Merino, Oyarzabal leads the attack alongside Yamal and Baena, while Bielsa goes with Darwin Núñez from the start 💥

🇿🇦 Get your World Cup Pass now and watch all FIFA World Cup 2026™ matches on SportyTV… pic.twitter.com/J3ozg1Pkrl

— SportyTV (@SportyTV) June 26, 2026

Uruguay Player Ratings

• Fernando Muslera - 3
• Juan Sanabria - 7
• Mathias Olivera - 7
• Sebastian Caceres - 6
• Guillermo Varela - 6
• Manuel Ugarte - 6
• Rodrigo Bentancur - 7
• Maxi Araujo - 6
• Federico Valverde - 6
• Agustin Canobbio - 6
• Darwin Nunez - 5

Substitutes:

• Nicolas de la Cruz (HT) - 6
• Sergio Rochet (HT) - 6
• Federico Vinas (57') - 6
• Brian Rodriguez (70') - 6

Spain Player Ratings

• Unai Simon - 6
• Marc Cucurella - 7
• Aymeric Laporte - 7
• Pau Cubarsi - 7
• Marcos Llorente - 7
• Pedri - 7
• Rodri - 7
• Mikel Merino - 6
• Alex Baena - 8
• Mikel Oyarzabal - 6
• Lamine Yamal - 7

Substitutes:

• Dani Olmo (60') - 6
• Fabian Ruiz (60') - 6
• Yeremy Pino (66') - 6
• Nico Williams (76') - 6
• Ferran Torres (76') - 7

Player of the Match - Alex Baena

It was quite a tough choice today since no one was really amazing today, but we'll give it to Alex Baena, who scored his first World Cup goal which sealed the result Spain wanted to secure top spot in Group H.

He reacted really well to get ahead of the Uruguayan defenders to even make his shot happen, and it was struck - I guess - well enough to get past Muslera to give them a narrow win.

After a very poor tournament and a mistake that allowed Spain to go ahead, keeper Fernando Muslera was subbed OFF by Marcelo Bielsa at half time… pic.twitter.com/57BfAqZfUC

— george (@StokeyyG2) June 27, 2026

Bad Day at the Office - Fernando Muslera

Oh Fernando...

Three games, three mistakes for the 40-year-old. Arguably the best part (or worst) is Marcelo Bielsa brought the veteran out of international retirement for this World Cup too.

It was a must-win game for Uruguay, and the mistake came at such a poor time for them. Especially against a team such as Spain, the last you can be doing is making silly mistakes, but that is what Muslera did and it made Uruguay's task so much harder.