Spain beat Uruguay 1-0 to top World Cup Group H | Sports News

Spain wins the World Cup group, beating Uruguay 1-0 as Muslera’s error sends two champions home.

Uruguay suffered a World Cup defeat as Fernando Muslera’s brace gave Spain a 1-0 win in Guadalajara to top Group H.

Alex Baena’s weak shot went over as Muslera scored the only goal as Spain avoided a place in the last 32 against Argentina.

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The European champions will face either Austria or Algeria next in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Uruguay’s defeat resulted in Cape Verde’s second place and a meeting with Lionel Messi and defenders, thanks to a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia.

Two-time winners Uruguay were the top team to reach the group stages as defeat set off a miserable campaign for Marcelo Bielsa and his team.

After the matches against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia, reports of a rebellion in Uruguay emerged, with leading players, including Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde, fighting Bielsa for his tactics.

Spain’s King Felipe was one of those in attendance, but the clash between former World Cup winners in the group stages was a big disappointment.

First-row Lamine Yamal sparked Spain’s attack into life in the 4-0 defeat of Saudi Arabia after La Roja got off to a difficult start with a goalless draw against Cape Verde.

But another tough setback leaves Luis de la Fuente with plenty to ponder before the knock-out stages begin on Sunday.

The hero of Uruguay’s run to the semifinals in 2010, Muslera was at fault for all of Cape Verde’s goals in a 2-2 draw.

And in Guadalajara, Spain had yet to threaten the 40-year-old Uruguayan’s goal before allowing Baena’s shot to go over Marcos Llorente’s crossbar in the 42nd minute.

To rub salt in Uruguay’s wounds, Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte was injured in the build-up to a goal and came off with what appeared to be a serious knee injury.

Bielsa replaced Muslera at half-time with Sergio Rochet, and the Uruguayan boss made a bold call when Valverde was subbed off on the hour mark.

De la Fuente also turned to his bench, and the introduction of Dani Olmo and Fabian Ruiz finally injected some life into Spain.

Olmo should have done better when he fired in from Yamal’s rare beam to delight his Barcelona team-mate.

Yamal was substituted 15 minutes from time as his minutes continue to improve after a hamstring injury ended his club season prematurely.

His replacement, Ferran Torres, should have doubled the lead five minutes from time, but he hit the bar and just scored.

Uruguay’s woeful campaign was summed up briefly when Agustin Canobbio was shown a straight red card in stoppage time for a tackle on Pau Cubarsi.

After being drawn as one of the pre-tournament favourites, Spain are now 34 matches unbeaten and have not conceded a single goal at the World Cup.

But in stark contrast to some of the more impressive performances from France, Argentina and the Netherlands, La Roja remain determined in their pursuit of a second World Cup triumph.