Uruguay vs Spain | FIFA World Cup 2026 — Group Stage | Preview and Prediction

An underwhelming Uruguay will face a high-flying Spanish side in their last group fixture on 27th June at the Guadalajara Stadium in Mexico. 

For the game, here we present our preview and prediction.

FIFA WC26 | Group H: URU vs ESP | 05:30 IST, June 27, 2026

Uruguay has really disappointed their fans with two very dismal displays against relatively easier opponents in Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. They ended up drawing both games and are currently on two points after two games with a desperate need for a win if they want to proceed to the knockouts. Spain started their World Cup campaign with a draw against debutants Cape Verde but came to life against Saudi Arabia, thrashing them 4-0 and putting one foot in the door for the knockouts. 

In their last game, Uruguay came back from a 0-1 deficit against Cape Verde to make it 2-1 before conceding a 60th minute equaliser to drop two massive points. Kevin Pina opened the scoring for Cape Verde through a fantastic free-kick. Maxi Araújo and Agustin Cannobio then helped Uruguay take the lead. However, Cape Verde upped their level yet again to equalise through Hélio Varela to level the score. Both teams had a couple of chances to find a winner but it ended honours even after the regulation plus stoppage time. 

Uruguay spurned their chance of winning against both Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde and could now face a possible elimination if they lose this game and if either Cape Verde or Saudi Arabia wins the other fixture. 

Uruguay has two players injured and unavailable for the game. Ronald Araujo and Giorgian de Arrascaeta are both out for Uruguay while Spain has no injury issues. 

Out of the two sides, Spain is definitely the superior team in terms of form and quality. They also rediscovered their goal scoring touch against Saudi Arabia after drawing a blank in their opener against Cape Verde. Uruguay has struggled in both games but more than scoring, it was their defence that has let them down. They conceded first against both Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde and then had to chase the game.  

In this encounter, we might witness two contrasting styles of play. While Spain will try to keep the majority of the possession, use their wide forwards and midfielders to attack, La Celeste will look to defend and go more direct with pacy forwards running behind the Spanish defence and catching them on the counter. Our prediction for this game would be a win for La Roja and a possible elimination for the Uruguayans. 

Score Prediction: Uruguay 1-3 Spain 

Venue: Guadalajara Stadium, Guadalajara, Mexico