Key events
Are Spain the best team at the World Cup? No! Because the Fifa rankings say they’re No 3 in the world, and those rankings are in no way flawed. They are, however, probably among the top two contenders, aside from France. And the French just gave everyone’s favourite dark horse, Norway, one hell of a beating. How much we can read into that is debatable – Norway rested 10 players – but the French still won 4-1 and looked very crisp. So Spain may want to put on a dominant display tonight to gather some momentum as they head to the knockouts. Or they could just do the PSG method and mess around until it really matters and then become unbeatable.
Good news for Uruguay! Even if they do get thrashed by Spain tonight and end up going out, they’re guaranteed a place in the 2030 World Cup due to the fact that they are co-hosts. And by co-hosts, I mean they’re hosting exactly one match. No one is saying that it’s easier than ever to qualify for the World Cup but …
Spain are also guaranteed a place at the 2030 World Cup due to the fact that they’re another of the 38 tournament co-hosts. What happens if Spain or Uruguay win this World Cup? Do they qualify for 2030 automatically twice – as winners and hosts? Interestingly, under an obscure Fifa bylaw, they do. They get to field two teams, but each player is only allowed to play with one leg and has to wear a hat made of bees to make things fairer. Should be interesting!
Preamble
This World Cup has suffered a little from its expanded format – there have been few heavyweight clashes but I guess two former champions battling for first place in the group counts. Here’s what’s at stake tonight in Guadalajara (and the rest of Group G):
Spain will guarantee qualification with a draw or win against Uruguay.
Uruguay need to beat Spain to absolutely guarantee qualification. A draw will almost certainly be good enough to see them through too.
Tom will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s your initial briefing on this matchup, courtesy of Graham Ruthven’s daily watch guide:
What to watch for
Uruguay haven’t played much like a Bielsa team at this World Cup so far. The 1930 and 1950 winners have struggled for creativity and have been one-dimensional in the final third in draws against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia. To make the knockout rounds, Uruguay must show more variety.
Spain bounced back from their underwhelming opener against Cape Verde to put four past Saudi Arabia. Lamine Yamal’s return gave the European champions a much-needed direct threat, which opened up space and restored faith that Spain will be as strong as was predicted before the start of the tournament.
Player to watch: Lamine Yamal, Spain – The 18-year-old is Spain’s biggest difference-maker and the player who makes everything click for them in the final third. Without him, they simply don’t have the necessary invention.
