When two former World Cup champions clashed, AP photojournalist Ricardo Mazalan expected the Spain-Uruguay to be an intense, hard-fought contest — especially with Uruguay trying to

As frustrating as World Cup elimination must be for fans, the powers that be back home were apparently so humiliated that they canceled their flights homes.

The World Cup round of 32 has already begun, but there’s still time to take one last look at the group stage that has just ended. After looking at the best young surprises, it’s time to list the biggest disappointments of this group stage.

Uruguay's Sebastian Caceres donned a blue protective mask during their World Cup match against Saudi Arabia. The center-back is wearing the mask to protect a fractured cheekbone and eye injury sustained playing for his club.

Alex Baena's first-half strike ultimately proved decisive, as Spain held on for a hard-fought 1-0 victory to send Uruguay crashing out of the World Cup. | Football News

Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte has suffered a knee ligament injury in his final World Cup group stage match against Spain, Manchester United have confirmed.