Uruguay crash out in the group stage as Bielsa says he 'leaves nothing'

A goal off Muslera's hands

Late in the first half, Spain's Alex Baena struck from outside the box. It was the kind of shot Fernando Muslera should hold, but the veteran goalkeeper could not push it clear and the ball rolled into his own net. That was Spain's only goal. Muslera was taken off at half-time, and Uruguay never found a reply in the 1-0 loss.

Uruguay finished third in Group H on two points and went out. Spain topped the group without conceding a goal, and Cape Verde — a debutant nation that drew all three of its matches for three points — took second, ahead of Uruguay. Two points was not even enough to reach the eight best third-placed teams. Ranked 19th by FIFA, Uruguay are the highest-ranked side to leave the tournament so far.

What Bielsa said on the way out

After the match Marcelo Bielsa took the blame. "What I leave for Uruguayan football is nothing, because any contribution a coach makes over three years never takes root without results," he said. He also argued his team had been unlucky: "We deserved seven points and got two." That is his own assessment; the record is that Uruguay did not win a single game at the tournament. Several outlets report that Bielsa will not stay on after the World Cup.

A dressing room under strain

Things had been fraying off the pitch too. According to Argentine outlet Infobae and others, senior players led by Federico Valverde had pushed back against the intensity of Bielsa's physical training, and the tension between coach and squad that began in 2024 was never resolved. The fallout had a blunt symbol: the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) cancelled the charter flight meant to bring the players home to Montevideo, and the squad is reported to be returning on commercial flights.

The same exit, 24 years on

This is not Bielsa's first group-stage World Cup exit. In 2002 he led a favoured Argentina side that went home after the group phase. The Chilean paper La Tercera framed this elimination as the mirror of that one, 24 years apart. A coach whose high-intensity, attacking ideas have shaped how others play has again been stopped before the knockout rounds.

Bielsa is expected to step down after the tournament, and no successor has been named. Uruguay is one of the co-hosts of the 2030 World Cup, so the next squad-building cycle runs straight into that preparation.