World Cup – Baena scores, Spain defeats Uruguay 1-0 and eliminates them from the competition.

In the third round of Group H at the 2026 World Cup, Spain defeated Uruguay 1-0 at the Akron Stadium in Mexico. With a record of 2 wins, 1 draw, and 7 points, they secured first place in the group and advanced to the knockout stage.

Uruguay lost all hope of advancing after this match and finished third in the group with a record of 2 draws and 1 loss, accumulating 2 points.

Both Spain and Uruguay employed high-pressing tactics in the first half, but their attacks posed few threats. In the 2nd minute, Lamin Yamal played a diagonal pass into the left side of the penalty area, where Mikel Oyarzabal's shot was blocked by Sebastián Cáceres. In the 23rd minute, Marcos Llorente delivered a lobbed pass from the right wing, but Mikel Merino, arriving just in time, missed a golden opportunity. In the 27th minute, Federico Valverde cut inside from the left and crossed the ball, but Darwin Núñez's fancy chip shot failed to find the target.

In the 32nd minute, Maxi Araujo's free kick from the right wing caused Unai Simon to fumble the save, and Agustin Canobbio's subsequent low shot was blocked by Pedri. In the 36th minute, Araujo broke through on the left wing and delivered a cross, Rodrigo Bentancur's long-range shot went just over the bar.

In the 42nd minute, Spain finally broke the deadlock thanks to an opponent's mistake: Marcos Llorente delivered a cross from the right wing, and Alejandro Baena turned and fired a shot into the net from inside the penalty area. With Fernando Muslera's save fumble leading to the ball going into the net, Spain took a 1-0 lead at halftime.

After the break, both sides continued the momentum of the first half. In the 63rd minute, Yamal cut inside from the right and delivered a cross, but Dani Olmo's shot inside the box went over the crossbar. In the 82nd minute, Matias Oliveira intercepted the ball on the left and surged into the box, but his powerful shot was brilliantly saved by Simon. In the 85th minute, Núñez passed the ball back from the edge of the box, and Nicolás de la Cruz's sudden shot was also successfully saved by Simon. In the 86th minute, Fabian Ruiz delivered a cross from the attacking third, and Ferran Torres broke into the box and fired a shot that struck the crossbar.

In the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, Canobbio made a diving tackle on Pau Cubasi in the opponent's half and was subsequently shown a red card. The match ended with Spain narrowly defeating Uruguay 1-0, despite Uruguay playing with ten men.

Image source: Internet