Spain see off Uruguay before a full house at Estadio Guadalajara | OneFootball

Mission accomplished! Guadalajara Stadium brought its participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup to a golden close, and after Spain’s narrow victory over Uruguay, the Home of Mexicans bowed out of the world tournament in grand fashion.

Ever since the tournament schedule was drawn, the lineup in the Pearl of Guadalajara drew major attention, especially because of the fourth and final match it would host: La Furia Roja against La Garra Charrúa.

The buzz surrounding this match was such that all kinds of personalities and world leaders were in attendance, including King Felipe VI of Spain, along with former players from both national teams. Among the most notable were Fernando Hierro, also a former sporting director of Chivas; Emilio Butragueño and Iker Casillas for the European side; as well as Sebastián 'Loco' Abreu and Diego Forlán for the South American team.

After the first two matchdays of the World Cup, Spain and Uruguay came in facing completely opposite realities, so a very physical and tightly contested match was expected. La Roja was looking to secure first place in Group H, while La Celeste was quite literally fighting for its life.

The emotional battle began the day before the match, during both teams’ press conferences. While the Spaniards overflowed with confidence in every statement, the Uruguayan camp showed a great deal of caution and even a somewhat defeatist attitude from its coach, Marcelo Bielsa: "My teams have never played as well as Luis de la Fuente’s," he said, with body language that remained permanently downcast.

From the opening whistle, the approaches were very clear. The Iberian side tried to control possession to develop its traditional tiki-taka, while the Uruguayan team looked to get near the opposing goal through quick transitions, but the pressure weighing on its players showed in their constant loss of the ball due to inaccurate passing.

The match’s only goal came shortly before halftime, when Marcos Llorente recovered a loose ball near the right touchline and, after reaching the end line, sent in a low cross that Álex Baena met after sneaking in behind three defenders, beating goalkeeper Fernando Muslera with a right-footed strike. For the third straight match, Muslera made a mistake that ended up affecting the scoreline.

The flow of the second half was not much different from the first 45 minutes. Uruguay tried, with more drive than footballing clarity, to get close to Unai Simón’s goal, but without success, while Spain managed possession and came very close to extending its lead when Ferran Torres combined with Fabián Ruiz in a give-and-go, chipped the ball past Mathías Olivera’s challenge, and unleashed a powerful shot that crashed off the crossbar.

All the pressure built up during the group stage, combined with the frustration over poor play and the looming defeat against Spain, caused Agustín Canobbio to lose control. In stoppage time, he launched a studs-up tackle on Pau Cubarsí, adding yet another episode to La Celeste’s shocking and painful elimination.

And so Guadalajara Stadium said goodbye to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, after hosting four thrilling matches that earned rave reviews and confirmed the Home of Mexicans as one of the finest sports venues on the planet.

Uruguay 0-1 Spain(Álex Baena, 42')Referee: Ismail ElfathAttendance: 45,065Guadalajara Stadium

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.