Spain edge past Uruguay to top group after tense defensive battle

Spain secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Uruguay to finish top of their World Cup group, dominating possession but forced into a tense defensive battle by Marcelo Bielsa’s side in Match Round 3.

• Uruguay will play with . , on .
• Spain will play with . , on .

Uruguay

• Néstor Fernando Muslera Micol (5.7)
• Guillermo Varela Olivera (6.3)
• Sebastián Enzo Cáceres Ramos (6.2)
• Mathías Olivera Miramontes (7.5)
• Juan Manuel Sanabria Magole (6.9)
• Manuel Ugarte Ribeiro (6.6)
• Agustín Canobbio Graviz (6.2)
• Rodrigo Bentancur Colmán (6.9)
• Federico Santiago Valverde Dipetta (6.7)
• Maximiliano Javier Araújo Vilches (6.9)
• Darwin Gabriel Núñez Ribeiro (6.3)

Spain

Substitutions:

Uruguay

• Manuel Ugarte Ribeiro (Diego Nicolás de la Cruz Arcosa, 45)
• Néstor Fernando Muslera Micol (Sergio Ramón Rochet Álvarez, 46)
• Federico Santiago Valverde Dipetta (Federico Sebastián Viñas Barboza, 57)
• Juan Manuel Sanabria Magole (Paul Brian Rodríguez Bravo, 70)

Spain

• Pedro González López (Fabián Ruiz Peña, 60)
• Mikel Merino Zazón (Daniel Olmo Carvajal, 60)
• Alejandro Baena Rodríguez (Yeremy Jesús Pino Santos, 66)
• Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana (Nicholas Williams Arthuer, 76)
• Mikel Oyarzabal Ugarte (Ferran Torres García, 76)

Ball possession:

Luis de la Fuente’s team, already praised for their control in earlier games, enjoyed 67% of the ball and out-shot Uruguay, but had to rely on their structure, pressing and set-piece organisation as much as their passing game to get over the line. Uruguay, who saw only 33% of possession, turned the contest into a duel-heavy, second-ball encounter and were a threat on the break right to the end.

Passes:

The decisive moment came in a tight first half, when Spain finally converted their superiority into the only goal of the night. Pau Cubarsí Paredes, who finished as Spain’s best player for shots on goal, capped an impressive two-way performance by providing the key attacking contribution that separated the sides.

Defense:

### Spain dominate ball, Uruguay fight on transitions

Face-to-face:

From the opening whistle, the pattern was clear. Spain built patiently from the back, with Rodrigo Hernández Cascante at the heart of it. The Manchester City midfielder produced a metronomic display, completing 94% of his 106 passes and repeatedly recycling possession to keep Uruguay pinned back.

Fouls:

Yellow cards:

• Juan Manuel Sanabria Magole (Uruguay) at 54 minute
• Guillermo Varela Olivera (Uruguay) at 58 minute
• Diego Nicolás de la Cruz Arcosa (Uruguay) at 90 minute
• Alejandro Baena Rodríguez (Spain) at 46 minute

Red cards:

• Agustín Canobbio Graviz (Uruguay) at 90 minute

The last five games (including this match):

• Uruguay –
• Spain –

Top 5 World Cup scorers:

1. Masour Ousmane Dembélé (3, )
2. Nicolas Pépé (2, )
3. Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior (2, )
4. Pape Alassane Gueye (2, )
5. Désiré Doué (1, )

Line-ups:

Next games:

• Uruguay will play with . , on .
• Spain will play with . , on .