When two former World Cup champions clashed, AP photojournalist Ricardo Mazalan expected the Spain-Uruguay to be an intense, hard-fought contest — especially with Uruguay trying to

The World Cup round of 32 has already begun, but there’s still time to take one last look at the group stage that has just ended. After looking at the best young surprises, it’s time to list the biggest disappointments of this group stage.

Uruguay's Sebastian Caceres donned a blue protective mask during their World Cup match against Saudi Arabia. The center-back is wearing the mask to protect a fractured cheekbone and eye injury sustained playing for his club.

Alex Baena's first-half strike ultimately proved decisive, as Spain held on for a hard-fought 1-0 victory to send Uruguay crashing out of the World Cup. | Football News

Two-time champions Uruguay exited the FIFA World Cup 2026 without a single win. Uruguay drew against Cabo Verde and Saudi Arabia in Group H and lost to Spain to exit at the group-stage of the competition.

Ranked No. 16 by FIFA ahead of the World Cup, Uruguay were the top-rated team among those that failed to advance to the round of 32