Spain edge Uruguay to top Group H as Cape Verde make history and Uruguay crash out

Spain signed off the group stage as Group H winners, but the night in Guadalajara will be remembered as much for who went out and who made history. Alex Baena's first-half strike settled a 1-0 win over Uruguay that confirmed top spot for La Roja, eliminated a two-time world champion, and sent debutants Cape Verde into the knockout rounds.

The decisive moment came in the 42nd minute. Baena broke the deadlock with a low effort that crept past Fernando Muslera and into the bottom corner, a clean finish to reward Spain's control. It was not a vintage Spanish performance, but it did not need to be; a single goal against a stubborn Uruguay was enough to secure the result they wanted.

For Spain, topping the group continues a steady, professional campaign. They have looked among the most controlled sides in the tournament, and finishing first rather than second can ease their path through the early knockout rounds. With Lamine Yamal and a generation of gifted attackers, they remain firmly among the favourites to go all the way.

The bigger drama lay in the standings. Uruguay, twice world champions and a side rich in pedigree, are out, unable to find a way past Spain when they needed a result. It is a chastening early exit for a nation that expected to be in the latter stages, and a reminder that reputation counts for nothing once the group maths turn against you.

And then there was Cape Verde. The debutants secured a historic place in the Round of 32, an extraordinary achievement for one of the smallest footballing nations to grace the tournament. Having competed with spirit throughout the group, they leapfrogged a giant of the game to advance, exactly the kind of fairytale the expanded World Cup was supposed to enable.

It is a result that captures the romance and the cruelty of tournament football in a single evening. One established power crashes out while a first-timer celebrates the greatest night in its history, the margins between the two decided by fine details and nerve. For neutrals, it is the sort of story that makes the World Cup what it is.

Spain now turn their attention to the knockouts as group winners, their credentials intact and their best players fit and firing. Cape Verde, meanwhile, will arrive in the last 32 with nothing to lose and a nation behind them, a dangerous combination for whoever they draw.

A routine scoreline, perhaps, but a night of seismic consequences in Group H. For every result and the shape of the last 32, follow the latest football news.