Efficient Spain top Group H: Baena's scrappy winner sinks Uruguay and sends Bielsa's men out

Spain beat Uruguay 1-0 to win Group H with a perfect defensive record, seven points and no goals conceded. Álex Baena's 42nd-minute strike slipped through veteran Fernando Muslera, who asked off at half-time. Agustín Canobbio was sent off late as Uruguay exited third, winless.

Spain did not need to be brilliant, only efficient, and that is exactly what they were. A scrappy first-half goal from Álex Baena was enough to beat Uruguay 1-0 in Guadalajara and send La Roja into the Round of 32 as Group H winners with a perfect defensive record: seven points, zero goals conceded across three matches.

The decisive moment arrived on forty-two minutes, and it was one to forget for Uruguay. Baena's strike was not the cleanest, but it squirmed through the hands of veteran goalkeeper Fernando Muslera and over the line. For the 40-year-old, it was a costly error, and a chastening one. He asked to be substituted at the break and was replaced by Sergio Rochet.

Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay huffed and puffed but rarely threatened a Spain side that controlled the game with sixty-eight percent of the ball and almost six hundred passes. Luis de la Fuente's team have made a habit of winning without fuss, and a clean sheet in every group game marks them out as serious contenders.

Uruguay's frustration boiled over deep into stoppage time. Agustín Canobbio was shown a straight red card in the ninety-fifth minute for a reckless, studs-up challenge on Spain's teenage defender Pau Cubarsí, a sour note on which to end a disappointing campaign.

The result eliminated Uruguay, who failed to win a single group game and finished third on two points. It is a harsh exit for a side packed with talent, and questions will follow Bielsa into the post-mortem. Earlier draws with Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde ultimately cost them.

In the parallel fixture, Cape Verde held Saudi Arabia to a draw to pip Uruguay to second and complete one of the great World Cup fairytales. Spain, meanwhile, march on having already brushed aside Saudi Arabia 4-0 in the group.

For Kenya, the eye is on the bigger picture: a Spain side that has not conceded all tournament looks ominous, and the neutrals will relish seeing how the tournament favourites are tested in the knockouts. Spain bado hawajafungwa bao, hawa ni hatari: Spain are yet to concede, and that makes them dangerous. Our Europe round-one verdict had La Roja among the favourites, while our South America verdict had warned Uruguay were flattering to deceive.