Spain takes advantage of a gift against Uruguay and secures a smoother path to the World Cup

BarcelonaThe Spanish team has lived up to expectations and has qualified for the round of 32 of the Football World Cup as group leaders. A lucky strike from Atlético player Álex Baena just before halftime was enough to defeat Uruguay in a very dull match between the two teams (0-1). By finishing first, the squad avoids playing for a ticket to the round of 16 against Lionel Messi's Argentina. If they do their homework against weak Jordan, the current world champion will play the first knockout round against the Cape Verde team, which advances in its World Cup debut after drawing three matches out of three, the last one early this morning against Saudi Arabia (0-0).

Spain has found itself with a rival marked by disagreement. Marcelo Bielsa and the heavyweights of the celeste team have had deep disagreements in recent days about how to express themselves on the pitch. The veteran Argentine coach opts for attractive football, which clashes with the traditional Uruguayan style of play, more comfortable in reaction. With their backs to the wall to secure a ticket for the World Cup play-offs, and considering that "la roja" accumulates a lot of possession, Bielsa's proposal has taken a conservative turn – with man-marking – which has resulted in a rather dull spectacle. Pedri found few solutions between the lines, Lamine Yamal ran into Sanabria's stubborn marking, and the big new addition to De la Fuente's starting eleven, Mikel Merino, also didn't have his day. For his part, Cucurella focused on the defensive phase, where he worked hard to minimize the ambushes of a very lively Canobbio.

All the ingredients pointed to the first half ending goalless, but the Uruguayan goalkeeper, who a few days ago against Cape Verde had already had a negative impact on his team (2-2), decided to liven up the evening with another blunder. In an isolated play set up by a useful press from Marcos Llorente, the ball reached Baena, who struck a seemingly harmless shot into the box. Fernando Muslera stretched to his right to try and stop it, but he misjudged the movement so badly that the ball ended up in his own net. A sad end to the career of the most important goalkeeper in Uruguayan football. Having just turned 40, this World Cup erases the trajectory of the last survivor of the golden generation of Suárez, Forlán, Godín, Cavani and company. Bielsa showed no mercy with him and punished him with a substitution at halftime. It was the second change he made, as just after the goal, Ugarte had to leave the field on a stretcher due to a serious injury.

In the second half, despite having the scoreboard advantage, Spain continued to be short of ideas. The South American team had even fewer, needing at least a draw to aspire to scratch some option of continuing in the championship. Without playmakers talented enough to threaten Unai Simón's area, Bielsa's men maintained competitiveness only through rough play. They took advantage of the referee Elfath's permissiveness to allow kicks in every tussle. Cannobio and Betancur risked being sent off in two tackles, but continued on the pitch as if nothing had happened (in stoppage time, the former did indeed see a direct red for a regrettable tackle on Pau Cubarsí). Fede Valverde, the celeste captain, who was substituted with more than half an hour left in the match, could not say the same. The merengue player reached the bench area with a sour face, cursing the decision of a Bielsa who, sitting by his portable cooler, didn't even flinch. A terrible World Cup for a man who finished the season at Madrid fined for a brawl with Tchouaméni. And an unmitigated failure for Uruguay against a Spain that reaches the knockout stages still far from its best version. In a few days, De la Fuente's team will most likely face Ralf Rangnick's Austria.