GUADALAJARA.- A disastrous night of the goalkeeper Uruguay, Fernando Muslerasealed the failure of the Celeste in the World Cup 2026since the team left the tournament in the group stage with a 1-0 defeat against Spain.
Muslera, 40, did not participate during the tie with the Uruguayan team. Still, the coach Marcelo Bielsa gave him the title in this World Cup.
“It was a very thoughtful decision. I made all the evaluations that I considered were necessary,” explained Bielsa.
The Argentine described Muslera as “a goalkeeper who was coming off a magnificent year and is a player with a lot of personality and a lot of character.”
The charrúas did not advance from the first phase of Qatar 2022but in this edition they were placed in a group that seemed more accessible along with the debutante Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Spain.
The African team surprised by qualifying in second place in Group H, while the Red team delivered by winning the sector with seven points.
A mistake that costs a goal
The match was preceded by information from the Uruguayan press about a rebellion in the Uruguayan dressing room against coach Bielsa.
Muslera’s nightmare began in the 42nd minute, when a shot from Alex Baena that ended up on the networks.
The play began with a drive by the 18-year-old jewel Lamine Yamal, who was left on the ground demanding a slap.
The defender Marcos Llorente He took the ball and crossed so that Baena got ahead of two Uruguayan defenders and shot.
The ball came out without much force, but bounced right in front of Muslera and went over the goalkeeper.
The more than 40,000 fans present, including the Uruguayan side, responded with boos every time he touched the ball.
The archer of Students of La Plata did not return to the field after the break and Sergio Rochet came into place.
“El Loco” explained in statements to the press after the game that the player himself asked to leave.
Bielsa announced the day before at a press conference that there would be “quarrels” between the footballer who faced Yamal and the winger. Barcelonabut the most intense duel was that of Agustín Cannobio and Marc Cucurella.
With his forays up front, the Spanish full-back, recently signed by the real Madridforced Cannobio to retreat. Both pushed and grabbed each other constantly even without the ball in dispute.
Despair
The second half dropped in intensity on the field, which led the spectators to be entertained by the “wave”, in addition to applause for Mexico.
In mockery of the Uruguayans, the fans began to chant “Cabo Verde, Cape Verde”, celebrating that the African debutant qualified in second place in group H.
Uruguay’s desperation was displayed with an overflow and attempted cross by the central defender Mathias Olivera at minute 64.
In the final moments, the match became more aggressive and the forward-oriented Charrúas resorted to fouls to stop the Spanish counterattack.
Cannobio was sent off with a straight red card for a harsh tackle in extra time. The midfielder had to be restrained by his teammates so that he did not confront the refereeing team on his way to the locker room.
Spain advances to the 16th place as leader of group H and awaits its rival, the second in Group J, with whom it will face on July 2 in Los Angeles.
La Roja extends its unbeaten streak to 34 games. “This is a great source of pride and shows that this team is very generous,” said the Spanish coach. Luis de la Fuente.
De la Fuente acknowledged that Uruguay was a very demanding opponent which led him to conclude that in the following rounds “we must improve the fluidity of the game. Today it was very difficult to throw three or four passes, we need to improve the movement of the ball at the speed to which we are accustomed.”
