---
title: "Muslera's costly own goal sends Uruguay out of the World Cup as Spain win"
description: "Spain beat Uruguay 1-0 at the 2026 World Cup, the only goal coming when veteran goalkeeper Fernando Muslera turned Álex Baena's shot into his own net — a calamitous error on a miserable night that ended Uruguay's tournament at the group stage."
category: "Sports"
category_url: https://newsparlor.com/category/sports
author: "Elena Castro"
published: 2026-06-27T19:14:00.000Z
updated: 2026-06-27T19:14:00.000Z
canonical: https://newsparlor.com/article/uruguay-spain-world-cup-muslera
tags: ["world-cup-2026", "uruguay", "spain", "fernando-muslera", "soccer", "football"]
---
# Muslera's costly own goal sends Uruguay out of the World Cup as Spain win

Spain beat Uruguay 1-0 at the 2026 World Cup, the only goal coming when veteran goalkeeper Fernando Muslera turned Álex Baena's shot into his own net — a calamitous error on a miserable night that ended Uruguay's tournament at the group stage.

It came down to a single moment for Uruguay's most experienced goalkeeper. In the 42nd minute of a tight group-stage match against Spain at the [2026 World Cup](https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49192407/uruguay-yank-keeper-muslera-howler-spain), Fernando Muslera got both hands to Álex Baena's shot — and steered it over his own line. That own goal settled the match, [ESPN reported](https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49192407/uruguay-yank-keeper-muslera-howler-spain): Spain 1, Uruguay 0.

## A keeper's nightmare

Muslera, who first played at a World Cup in 2010, had never been substituted during a World Cup match — until he asked to come off at halftime, replaced by Sergio Rochet. "It's a decision Muslera took himself," Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa said afterward, according to ESPN.

## A night that kept getting worse

The error was only part of Uruguay's misery. Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte was carried off injured in the first half; Federico Valverde, one of the team's most reliable players, was withdrawn early in the second half and left visibly upset; and Agustín Canobbio was sent off for a dangerous challenge, leaving Uruguay a man short late on. For Spain, the heavily watched young forward Lamine Yamal had a quiet evening and was substituted, a reminder that even strong sides can struggle against a stubborn defense.

## Spain through, Uruguay out

Spain advanced as group winners, with Cape Verde — who had drawn 2-2 with Uruguay — finishing second to reach the round of 32, the new knockout phase introduced when FIFA expanded the tournament to 48 teams for this edition, hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Uruguay, ranked 19th by FIFA and the highest-ranked side eliminated so far, went out with two points from three matches — a second straight group-stage exit for a nation that won the very first World Cup in 1930 and lifted it again in 1950.

"Mistakes happen in football," Bielsa said, while Spain's Luis de la Fuente was guarded about a win his side ground out rather than dazzled in, calling it "a game with maximum difficulty."

## The weight of a career

For the 38-year-old Muslera, this is likely the final chapter of an international career spanning four World Cups, ended in the cruelest fashion on the sport's biggest stage. Uruguay, long a nation that punches above its size in world football, must now look to a new generation to restore its standing.