Uruguay’s shock early exit ends with red card as Baena sends Spain through

Uruguay are out of the World Cup again and for all that it ended in anger, a red card and a touchline row, it is nobody’s fault but their own. “3 million dreams,” the banner said high in the stands in Guadalajara but this was a recurring nightmare. Divided and dysfunctional, led by a man who barely even says buenos dias to his players, unable to get beyond a draw with Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde, on the night when it was all or nothing against Spain they could manage only one shot on target, which came in the 83rd minute and carried barely the slightest threat.

Spain, meanwhile, had only one, and that didn’t carry much of a threat either. But a dreadful mistake from the 40-year-old Fernando Muslera allowed Álex Baena’s shot to slip into the net just before the half-time break from which the goalkeeper did not return. Uruguay fought but didn’t play much football and so they fell. For the second World Cup running they failed to get through the group and if four years ago that was on goals scored and could be explained by the teams they faced – South Korea, Ghana and Portugal – this time the opponents only made it worse, demanding a far deeper analysis.

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