2026 World Cup: Spain win Group H thanks to Fernando Muslera's mistake; Cape Verde went ahead with the Uruguay
Spain went top of Group H with a 1-0 win — a big mistake by Fernando Muslera led to a Spain goal. Cape Verde, on the other hand, secured their first World Cup moment in the knockout stage with a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia; Uruva was eliminated from the tournament.
In the Group H match between Spain and Uruguay, Spain won the group with a 1-0 win. The only decisive goal was the result of a mistake in an overmatched situation. In the 42nd minute, Uruvai goalkeeper Fernando Muslera made an admirable effort to parry Alex Bayena's shot, but the ball bounced off his hands and into the goal — the single deciding goal of the match that was a major factor in Spain's victory.
The match saw some difficult phases at Muslera's level. Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa responded at halftime, replacing Muslera with Sergio Rochet at halftime. Also Real Madrid star Federico Valverde was transferred in the 58th minute by coach Bielsa. Uruvay had some promising moments in the second half but was unable to show a sustained aggressive attack or consistent character.
With the win, Spain now top the group with 7 points. Cape Verde finished second with a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia — 3 points. Uruguay finished third with 2 points, while Saudi Arabia finished fourth with one point.
Cape Verde's unbeaten World Cup campaign began with a 0-0 draw against Spain in the first match, and now it's getting stronger: second in the group, Cape Verde will face Lionel Messi's Argentina in the round of 16 in Miami on July 3. A win in that match would give Cape Verde a chance to advance to another round of 16 in Atlanta on July 7, where they are currently in contention for Spain — which could be a major upset in the auto sector.
The decision on who Spain's next knockout opponent will be is still not entirely clear. Spain's opponent will depend on the results of the match between Austria and Algeria in Group J: Austria or Algeria, who finishes second, will face Spain as the opposite opponent. If both Austria and Algeria end up level on 4 points, Austria will most likely face Spain, giving Algeria a chance to beat Switzerland.
Meanwhile, Uruve will need to do some introspection. In the event that Uruguay drew with Spain, and Cape Verde drew with Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde could have gone into the knockouts with three dozen points. As it stands now, with nine third-placed teams already on three points, only eight of those nine teams will enter the knockout round — a rule that leads to serious thinking in Uruvay.
Spain are expected to be the second favorites behind France for the tournament, and with the ability they have shown over the last two years, could give anyone a run for their money. The group stage obviously doesn't appeal to everyone—it's a tournament; The important thing is to play fair and move forward.
It remains to be seen whether the Cape Verdean's journey will last as long as possible — but Argentina's Lionel Messi has the best chance of facing him. That's the beauty of football: a small team can beat a big one and make history. But for Uruvay football fans, this initial stage was a big disappointment.