Spain vs Uruguay at World Cup 2026: match prediction, knockouts and lineups
Past winners Uruguay and Spain face off in Guadalajara, battling for top-spot in Group H and a kinder knockout draw. Who: Spain vs Uruguay What
Past winners Uruguay and Spain face off in Guadalajara, battling for top-spot in Group H and a kinder knockout draw. Who: Spain vs Uruguay What: FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H match Where: Guadalajara Stadium, Mexico When: Friday, 6pm local time (00:00 GMT) How to follow: We’ll have all the buildup on Al Jazeera Sport from 20:30 GMT ahead of our live text commentary stream. The only clash of former FIFA World Cup winners in the group stage of this edition comes in the final round of games, and it’s a crucial one for both Uruguay and Spain in Group H. Spain sit top of the table with four points and know a win will seal first place, but though Uruguay are second, they need at least a point to be sure of their own progress to the Round of 32 with the fairytale side of Cape Verde still in with a chance of qualifying as group winners. Have Spain clicked ahead of the knockout stage? Though they dominated their opening group game against Cape Verde, Spain could not make their possession count or find a way past veteran keeper Vozinha, having to settle for a 0-0 draw that raised eyebrows around the football world. They, however, bounced back in style to sweep aside Saudi Arabia 4-0 in the second matchday and take control of their own knockout destiny. “The first game wasn’t really us, it was different, but now we’ve arrived and we’re going for more,” said 18-year-old Lamine Yamal, who opened the scoring, having been limited to a cameo off the bench in their first game after a hamstring injury hindered the end of his season with Barcelona.
His team came in for plenty of criticism after the stalemate in their opening game, but head coach Luis de la Fuente said after game two: “It’s crazy to question this team.” “You can have better days, worse days, normal days, but questioning, doubting this generation of very young footballers, with a bright future, I think it’s unfair,” he said. Spain will seek to build on the win over Saudi Arabia against the South Americans, knowing a draw would be enough to secure the top spot and set up a clash with Austria or Algeria in the round of 32. Beyond that, Portugal loom, though the USA or Egypt won’t hold as many fears on route to a potential semifinal match-up against France. Lamal is returning to fitness, and Mikel Oyarzabal is on the fringes of an intriguing battle for the Golden Boot after his double against Saudi Arabia, but Spain will have to deal with the absence of Pedri due to suspension. Bielsa rues mistakes Uruguay had high hopes of sailing through Group H with at least six points, but they have been made to pay for sloppy mistakes. La Celeste had to salvage a 1-1 draw late on against Saudi Arabia in their opening game, and after conceding an avoidable opener from a long-range free-kick against Cape Verde, managed to get themselves in front, only for another calamitous goal to ensure it finished 2-2 despite plenty of late pressure from Uruguay. “The organisational mistakes that were made, they always fall upon the [head coach],” Marcelo Bielsa said. “There is no magical recipe whatsoever to fix them. It goes without saying we paid a very high cost for those mistakes,” he added.
The BriefWire