STORY: Spain beat Uruguay 1-0 on Friday (June 26) to top Group H and reach the FIFA World Cup knockout stages, with Alex Baena's first-half strike proving decisive as Marcelo Bielsa's side exited the tournament.

Spain finished with seven points from two wins and a draw, while newcomers Cape Verde claimed the second knockout berth after three consecutive draws. Uruguay bowed out with just two points, level with bottom-placed Saudi Arabia.

Spain struggled to breach Uruguay's solid backline before Alex Baena broke the deadlock just before halftime, firing a shot that goalkeeper Fernando Muslera fumbled into his own net.

Uruguay replaced Muslera at halftime after his costly error, but despite piling on the pressure, they could not beat Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon, who denied Mathias Olivera and Nicolas de la Cruz, while Ferran Torres hit the crossbar at the other end.

Agustin Canobbio's stoppage-time red card for a reckless challenge on Pau Cubarsi summed up Uruguay's frustrations as Spain comfortably saw out the victory.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: GUADALAJARA, MEXICO (JUNE 26, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF FANS LEAVING ESTADIO GUADALAJARA

2. SPAIN FANS POSING WITH SCARFS

3. FANS LEAVING

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) URUGUAY FAN, ALVARO MALDONADO, SAYING:

"I'm really riled up. Really riled up, because we deserve better, but we came here without any goalscorers. We came here without any goalscorers, and we don't have much, and with mistakes, you just can't make mistakes at this level. You just can´t. We came here without any goalscorers, and we've been knocked out real quick."

5. FANS LEAVING

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SPAIN FAN, DIEGO NOGUEIRA, SAYING:

"Terrible. I mean, Spain played badly, but Uruguay played even worse. I mean, Uruguay didn't even seem to be out to win the game. I mean, what a waste of money to come here to watch this. This was terrible."

7. FANS LEAVING

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) URUGUAY FAN, GERMAN DALTO, SAYING:

"But at the same time, I had faith in us, because of the kind of players we had, and well, that’s how it went. We got knocked out. Everyone’s blaming the coach, but it’s not his fault, it’s the team. We didn’t create a single clear scoring chance, it was all long balls, but well, these things happen."

9. VARIOUS OF FANS LEAVING

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SPAIN FAN, PEDRO PABLO MONTES, SAYING:

"It's going to be tough. There are some really good teams. Honestly, that's the beauty of the World Cup, every team is giving it their all, and there are so many stars. We haven't seen this many stars together since '94, and man, we're in for a great World Cup."

11. VARIOUS OF SPAIN FANS WEARING MARC CUCURELLA WIGS

12. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SPAIN FAN, LUIS DOMENEC, SAYING:

"Well, I'd say the game was a bit of a letdown, to be honest. We were expecting more, especially from Uruguay, but we're still happy that Spain won."

13. FANS LEAVING