World Cup: Uruguay crash out after Muslera howler gifts Spain victory

Uruguay crashed out of the World Cup on Friday after goalkeeper Fernando Muslera’s costly blunder gifted Spain a 1-0 victory in Guadalajara.

Alex Baena’s weak effort slipped through Muslera’s hands in the 42nd minute and rolled over the line to hand Spain the win and top spot in Group H.

The result means Spain avoided a last-32 clash with reigning champions Argentina and will instead face either Austria or Algeria in Los Angeles on Thursday.

For Uruguay, it was a painful end to a miserable campaign that saw the two-time world champions fail to win a single group match.

Their defeat also allowed World Cup debutants Cape Verde to finish second in the group after a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia, setting up a dream knockout clash with Lionel Messi’s Argentina.

Uruguay became the highest-ranked team to exit the tournament at the group stage, capping a troubled outing for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

The South Americans had earlier drawn with Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia, while reports of unrest in camp had emerged before the Spain match.

Some senior players, including Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde, were reported to have clashed with Bielsa over his tactics.

Bielsa then raised eyebrows during the match when he substituted Valverde around the hour mark, while Muslera was replaced at half-time by Sergio Rochet.

The Uruguay coach later accepted responsibility for the team’s early exit.

“Journalists and fans of Uruguayan football legitimately want to pin the blame on me. I’m the person responsible and I have to accept it,” Bielsa said.

Spain, watched by King Felipe, did enough to win but again failed to fully convince despite extending their unbeaten run in competitive matches to 34 games.

The European champions had opened their campaign with a goalless draw against Cape Verde before beating Saudi Arabia 4-0.

Lamine Yamal returned to the starting line-up and brought more energy to Spain’s attack, but La Roja still struggled to produce the fluent football expected of them.

Coach Luis de la Fuente admitted his team were not at their sparkling best.

“In football, you can’t always play with the brilliance you wish for, or that we are capable of showing at other times,” he said.

“We maintained an incredibly high level of concentration, responsibility, and composure, and we avoided rising to the many provocations that could have led to serious trouble.”

Spain also suffered injury concerns, with Yeremy Pino hurting his shoulder and Nico Williams ending the bruising encounter with a muscle problem.

Muslera, one of the heroes of Uruguay’s run to the semi-finals in 2010, endured another difficult night after also being at fault for both goals conceded against Cape Verde.

Spain had barely threatened before Marcos Llorente’s cross found Baena, whose tame shot somehow escaped the 40-year-old goalkeeper and gave La Roja the lead.

Yamal was withdrawn 15 minutes from time as Spain continued to manage his minutes following a hamstring injury.

His replacement, Ferran Torres, should have made it 2-0 late on but struck the bar with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Uruguay’s frustration boiled over in stoppage time when Agustin Canobbio was shown a straight red card for a wild challenge on Pau Cubarsi.

Spain now move into the knockout stage yet to concede a goal at the tournament, but questions remain over whether they have shown enough attacking sharpness to challenge for a second World Cup title.