Spain player ratings vs Uruguay: Fernando Muslera's howler opens the door for Alex Baena to send reigning European champions top of World Cup group

The defining image of Spain's World Cup win over Uruguay was not a celebration. It was not Spain's trademark tiki-taka or a Lamine Yamal rainbow flick. Instead, it was backup goalkeeper Sergio Rochet replacing Fernando Muslera at halftime after the veteran's costly error helped open the door for Alex Baena to send Spain top of their group.

Uruguay's nightmare did not end there. It was Muslera's mishap that handed Alex Baena a goal and, ultimately, Spain a 1-0 win that sent them top of the group. It also doomed Uruguay to an early elimination, one caused at least in part by a trio of Muslera errors across three World Cup matches.

With the win, Spain have won Group H, but they did not quite do it in style. Friday's group-stage match was a tense affair, defined by physical challenges, a late red card and, more than anything else, Baena's finish that separated the two teams.

That finish came just moments before halftime. Played in by Marcos Llorente, Baena took a touch into the center of the box before firing a tame shot at goal. Then Muslera got it all wrong, failing to push the ball away. Instead, he pushed it into the side netting, effectively handing Spain the result and condemning Uruguay to elimination.

Uruguay will rue the mistakes, both in this match and in their first two matches, which both ended in draws. Spain, meanwhile, will celebrate their good fortune as they look ahead to a meeting with Austria or Algeria in the Round of 32. They'll have to be better, but at least they're still playing. The same cannot be said for Uruguay.

GOAL rates Spain's players from Guadalajara...

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Goalkeeper & Defence
Unai Simón (6/10):
Didn't have to do anything until Uruguay's first shot on target in the 85th minute. Did well to make the save, though.
Marc Cucurella (6/10):
Not particularly good defensively and did not add enough with the ball to justify it.
Aymeric Laporte (7/10):
As solid as you'd expect from a defender with his résumé. Just not quite as solid as Cubarsí, though.
Pau Cubarsí (9/10):
Absolutely fantastic. Did not put a foot wrong all match.
Marcos Llorente (7/10):
Very useful on the right-hand side. Played a dangerous ball into the box on Baena's goal and was rewarded with an assist.

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Midfield
Pedri (7/10):
Extremely classy on the ball, as usual. Was hacked down a few times and was rightly substituted before anything worse happened.
Rodri (8/10):
The metronome. Led Spain in touches and hardly misplaced a pass. Nothing flashy, but Spain do not need Rodri to be flashy.
Mikel Merino (6/10):
Certainly the least impactful of the three midfielders. Not bad, but not particularly great, either.
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Attack
Alex Baena (7/10):
Certainly got lucky with the goal, but they all count the same. Did not do much else, though, before being substituted after picking up a yellow card.
Mikel Oyarzabal (6/10):
Not particularly effective. His only look at goal came from long range, as most of his touches came in midfield rather than near the penalty area.
Lamine Yamal (6/10):
Lots of flash, but not quite enough substance. Certainly racked up impressive dribbling numbers and had plenty of touches in dangerous areas, but there was not anything particularly decisive about what followed.

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Subs & Manager
Dani Olmo (5/10):
Wasted a great chance created by Yamal. The ball did bounce a bit, but Olmo still needed to put his shot somewhere near the goal.
Fabián Ruiz (6/10):
Took over for Pedri, and he is not Pedri. Was close, though, as he helped Spain maintain control of the midfield.
Yeremi Pino (5/10):
Never really got involved and had far too few touches.
Ferran Torres (5/10):
Missed an absolute golden chance to put the game away. An attacker simply cannot put that shot over the bar.
Nico Williams (N/A):
Hardly had anything to do.
Luis de la Fuente (7/10):
Mission accomplished. Got the win without incident, which is certainly a positive. Still, this was not particularly impressive or confidence-inspiring, leaving this Spain team with questions to answer in the knockout rounds.

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Goalkeeper & Defence

Midfield

Attack

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