Guadalajara: Spain defeated Uruguay 1-0 after another goalkeeping mistake by Fernando Muslera to advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup and eliminate the South American powerhouse Friday.
Uruguay, a two-time champion, will go home without any victories in its three Group H games. Spain, European champion, won the group with seven points and will face the second-place team from Group J — either Austria or Algeria — Thursday in Inglewood, California.
Alex Baena scored in the 42nd minute after Muslera could not fully swat away his shot from inside the area. It was the third blunder of the tournament by the 40-year-old Muslera, who was pulled at halftime by coach Marcelo Bielsa.
At 19th in the FIFA rankings, Uruguay is the highest-ranked team to be eliminated so far.
