Spain Player Ratings vs. Uruguay: Objective Achieved on Night to Quickly Forget

A lone goal from Álex Baena was enough for Spain to claim a 1–0 victory over Uruguay to win Group H, but it was anything but a vintage performance on Friday.

La Roja had just seemed to find their form after a dominant 4–0 win over Saudi Arabia last time out, but any progress was promptly stalled in Guadalajara. Despite dominating possession from the opening whistle, Luis de la Fuente’s men were uncreative and complacent, struggling to get much of anything going against a Uruguay side that did not have a win to its name at the 2026 World Cup.

A dreadful goalkeeping blunder from Fernando Muslera gifted Baena his first goal of the tournament in the 42nd minute, and that was all Spain needed to claim three points. La Celeste, meanwhile, saw its World Cup hopes end, capped off by a red card to Agustín Canobbio.

Alarm bells are surely sounding after another lackluster performance from Spain, and the reigning European champions will be salivating to put in a much (much) more convincing display in the round of 32.

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The Moment That Changed the Game

Fernando Muslera gifted Spain the only goal of the match. | Luke Hales/Getty Images

After scoring four goals last time out, Spain would have hoped to pick up right where it left off. Except Uruguay’s disciplined and physical defense provided a much larger test than Saudi Arabia. La Roja struggled to create much of anything in the final third in the first half, relying too heavily on Lamine Yamal to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

De La Fuente’s men did not even have a shot on target in the opening 40 minutes. They seemed destined to go down the tunnel with their heads hanging low until Uruguay goalkeeper Muslera changed the game with one mistake.

After getting on the end of a ball from Marcos Llorente, Baena fired a rather routine shot right at Muslera. The 40-year-old got two hands on it as he went to ground, but the ball went through his gloves and into the back of the net.

The howler gave Spain the lead and ultimately all three points on a night where the reigning European champions hardly looked like they earned it.

Spain Player Ratings vs. Uruguay (4-3-3)

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Unai Simón—7.7: Hardly instilled confidence. Had two early spills that could have cost Spain. Made two saves on the night.

RB: Marcos Llorente—8.3: Impressed in transition, using his pace to blow by Uruguay defenders and deliver quality service in to the box, including the ball that Baena buried.

CB: Pau Cubarsí—7.5: Let runners get in behind him early but regained quickly. Didn’t need to be at his best to keep Darwin Núñez quiet.

CB: Aymeric Laporte—7.9: Confident carrying the ball forward, but his long passes left plenty to be desired. Dominant in the air.

LB: Marc Cucurella—7.2: Caught lacking against the speed of Núñez. Needed to convene with Pedri to reset defensively, which he did so in the second half.

CM: Mikel Merino—6.5: It won’t show up on the scoresheet, but his lunging challenge to regain possession for Spain helped create Baena’s goal. Otherwise, he hardly had an impact.

CM: Rodri—7.2: Not exactly a show-stopping performance. Made short, unremarkable passes all night long, but did his job defensively. Effectively recovered the ball to help Spain maintain control.

CM: Pedri—7.5: Showed off his technical skill with silky moves that helped control the tempo of the game, but not one of his more mesmerizing performances. Beat up physically.

RW: Lamine Yamal—6.9: A danger when he had space on the right wing, but lacked the end product. Too easily dispossessed. Struggled to hang with the physicality of Uruguay.

ST: Mikel Oyarzabal—6.3: Hardly had a sniff in a wildly anonymous outing. Took one shot, which was off target, in 76 minutes on the pitch.

LW: Álex Baena—7.6: Gifted a goal by a blunder from goalkeeper Muslera. The moment saved him after a completely lackluster outing.

SUB: Dani Olmo (60’ for Merino)—6.8: Instantly gave Spain a spark off the bench. Should have scored just past the hour-mark.

SUB: Fabián Ruiz (60’ for Pedri)—6.6: Settled into his place in the midfield without fanfare. Tidy in possession.

SUB: Yéremy Pino (66’ for Baena)—5.8: Made nine passes, each one more unremarkable than the last.

SUB: Nico Williams (76’ for Pedri)—6.3: A heated clash with Canobbio was the highlight of his involvement.

SUB: Ferran Torres (76’ for Oyarzabal)—6.6: Through on goal in the dying stages and didn’t even put his shot on target.

Subs not used: David Raya (GK), Joan García (GK), Eric Garcia, Marc Pubill, Pedro Porro, Alex Grimaldo, Martín Zubimendi, Gavi, Borja Iglesias, Víctor Muñoz

What the Ratings Tell Us

Dani Olmo arguably should have started on Friday. | Carl De Souza/AFP/Getty Images

Marcos Llorente returned to the right flank after being benched for Pedro Porro last time out and he likely did enough to permanently win the starting job moving forward. The 31-year-old, who was arguably the best right back in La Liga last season, brings speed and creativity to the right flank that helps Spain’s attack hum even if Yamal is not at his best.
It might sound strange to criticize Unai Simón, who did not let in a goal in the group stage, but the Spaniard’s poor decision making could have cost La Roja had they been playing a sharper opponent. With David Raya and Joan García on the bench, questions will start to mount for De la Fuente if his chosen No. 1 continues to underwhelm while having such elite talent wasting away on the sidelines.
It was painfully obvious Spain was crying out for a dynamic playmaker on Friday. Starting Mikel Merino over Dani Olmo did a team already desperately missing the injured Fermín López little favors. Once Olmo came on, La Roja’s attack finally had some life, but even the Barcelona man could not revive such a drab performance.

The Numbers That Explain Spain’s Lackluster Win

Spain managed just one shot on target against Uruguay—and that was Baena’s goal. It’s no wonder the team had an xG of 0.86.
The entire game had two big chances, one from either side. There was a glaring lack of imagination from the two opponents, but especially for La Celeste, who needed to win to ensure their place in the round of 32.
The second half was largely disrupted by fouls. By the time the final whistle sounded, the game had 28 fouls and one red card.

Statistic	Uruguay	Spain
Possession	33%	67%
xG	0.20	0.86
Total Shots	5	6
Shots on Target	1	1
Big Chances	1	1
Pass Accuracy	76%	89%
Fouls	14	14
Corners	1	6

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