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Uruguay are now the third country Marcelo Bielsa has guided to a World Cup, and in 2023 he oversaw wins against South American giants Brazil and Argentina.

More recently they drew with Thomas Tuchel's England in a friendly at Wembley, but it has not all been plain sailing for Uruguay under Bielsa.

In September 2024, he was criticised by the country's legendary striker Luis Suarez, who said Bielsa had "divided the whole group".

At the time, Suarez urged Uruguay fans "not to take it out on the players when things go wrong" because "the players will reach a limit and they will explode" under Bielsa's working conditions.

They were also beaten 5-1 by the USA in November last year, a result that left Bielsa feeling "ashamed" and seemingly considering his position in charge of the national team.

At 70, this World Cup could well represent Bielsa's final chance to cement his legacy on the international stage, and he has already hinted that he will step down once Uruguay's campaign comes to an end.

A quiet exit from the big stage, whenever it might come, seems unlikely.

One carrot that Bielsa may find irresistible - if Uruguay finish second in the group then a last-32 tie against Argentina beckons...

Spain

Watch BBC pundits Wayne Rooney, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Thomas Frank give their analysis on Lamine Yamal's performance for Spain against Saudi Arabia...

Spain

Even if Uruguay were able to find a way to stop 10 of Spain's 11 players, stopping Lamine Yamal is a different story entirely.

He became the ninth youngest goalscorer in World Cup history (18 years, 343 days), when he scored 10 minutes into his first World Cup start against Saudi Arabia.

Lamine Yamal was eighth after the match, but was bumped down to ninth by Bosnia-Herzegovina’s 18-year-old Kerim Alajbegovic, who scored the first goal against Qatar on Wednesday.

Prior to 2026, the only teenager to score in consecutive appearances at the tournament is Brazil’s Pelé in 1958.

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Sutton
Former England forward's World Cup predictions

Uruguay have been a big disappointment and have been left needing something from this game. I don't see them getting it.

Spain need a win to make sure of winning the group, so they won't rest anyone here. They will be hard to stop.

Chris Sutton has some good news for Scotland fans on this one...

This one is simple, Scotland need Uruguay to lose to Spain to ensure that they finish with a better record than the third-placed team in Group H.

Spain will progress as one of the top two sides if they avoid defeat against Uruguay on Saturday (01:00 BST).

Even if they lose, they will still finish inside the top two unless Cape Verde beat Uruguay. If that happens, Spain will finish third on four points, which is likely to be good enough.

Spain will top the group with a draw, unless Cape Verde win and overturn a goal difference deficit of four.

The group winners go on to play the runners-up of Group J.

Uruguay will be through if they beat Spain. If they draw, then a top-two finish is only possible if Cape Verde also draw.

Cape Verde will make the top two if they beat Saudi Arabia. They can also definitely go through with a draw if Spain beat Uruguay.

If Uruguay and Cape Verde both win they will be tied for top spot, or if they draw for second spot. As they drew with each other, placings would be determined on goal difference - which is level at zero.

If goal difference is identical, positions will be decided first by the better disciplinary record (Cape Verde -3, Uruguay -2) and then by Fifa world ranking, which Uruguay hold.

The second-placed team will face Argentina.

Neither team will qualify if they lose.

Saudi Arabia must beat Cape Verde, and will also need Spain to avoid defeat against Uruguay, to finish second. Four points would likely be enough in third anyway.

Right, we have two more groups to preview before we close this page at 14:00 BST.

Let's move on to Group H...

Scotland need four third-place teams to finish with a record worse than their three points and -3 goal difference to qualify to the last 32.

In this match they would need Senegal and Iraq to draw OR Iraq to beat Senegal by no more than two goals to finish above them in the third-place rankings.

Chris Sutton
Former England forward's World Cup predictions

After two defeats so far, Senegal will be desperate to win and win well.

They will get the better of Iraq but they will probably need to score a few goals to improve their goal difference if they are going to sneak through as one of the best third-placed teams.

Chris Sutton does not hold out much hope for Iraq in Group I's other match...

BBC iPlayer

From the Paris suburbs to the pinnacle of football, BBC documentary Mbappe explores Kylian Mbappe’s once-in-a-generation talent while uncovering what led him to become one of the best players in the world.

• Click on this link to watch now on BBC iPlayer.

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Only Argentina's Lionel Messi (5) has scored more than Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland at this World Cup so far.

This is only the second time in World Cup history that three players have scored four or more times after two matches - and the first since since 1954.

Mbappe has now drawn level with Germany's Miroslav Klose who has the second-highest amount of goals in World Cup history (16) after Messi broke the record to score 18 goals from 28 World Cup games.

Haaland, playing in the World Cup for the first time in his career, could become only the third player in World Cup history to net two or more goals in each of his first three appearances in the competition.

Top goal scorers at 2026 World Cup:

• 5 - Lionel Messi*
• 4 - Erling Haaland*, Kylian Mbappe*, Vinicius Jnr
• 3 - Deniz Undav, Johan Manzambi, Brian Brobbey, Matheus Cunha, Ismael Saibari, Jonathan David

* = Played two games, the rest have played three games

Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

Two of the greatest forwards in world football will go head-to-head at Boston Stadium on Friday, as France and Kylian Mbappe take on Norway and Erling Haaland.

Both nations have won their opening two group-stage matches at the World Cup, helped by devastating displays from their star strikers. Mbappe and Haaland have each scored twice in both of their opening games, leaving them on four goals for the tournament. Lionel Messi leads the race for the Golden Boot with five.

With top spot in Group I still up for grabs, both players are expected to start despite their teams having already secured qualification for the knockout stages. The match effectively serves as a playoff to determine who finishes first and, in theory, earns a more favourable path in the bracket.

Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

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This World Cup has shown that neither player is daunted by the pressure of a major tournament too.

For all the focus on Lionel Messi, it feels only a matter of time before Kylian Mbappe reels him in at the top of the World Cup scoring charts.

The Frenchman trails the 39-year-old by just two goals after scoring 16 times in 16 World Cup appearances. Crucially, Mbappe is 12 years younger than Messi and, while you would not completely rule out the Argentina legend returning in four years' time, this is likely to be his final World Cup.

Erling Haaland is playing in his first World Cup and has taken to the tournament like a Viking rower to water.

He is the sixth player in World Cup history to score multiple goals in each of his first two appearances at the tournament and only the second to do so in the past 50 years, after Harry Kane for England in 2018.

His recent form for Norway has been remarkable, too. He has scored in 12 consecutive competitive internationals, including an incredible 16 goals in his last six matches.

On the international stage, Haaland has also been the more prolific scorer overall. Mbappe has an impressive 60 international goals in 100 games, but the Norway striker is just one behind on 59 despite having played only 52 matches for his country - 48 fewer than Mbappe.

Norway

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Their respective and comparable importance is neatly illustrated by their recent international goal involvements.

Since August 2022, Kylian Mbappe has been involved in 44% of France's goals, contributing 33 goals and 17 assists. During the same period, Erling Haaland has contributed 39 goals and four assists, accounting for 43.9% of Norway's goal involvements.

France, of course, have loftier ambitions this summer and are among the favourites to win the tournament. Even Haaland himself has said he believes Les Bleus will beat Norway on Friday and go on to lift the trophy.

Norway are capable of giving the French a bloody nose though, especially with the game's most dominant penalty-box predator in red-hot form. With Haaland, it would be foolish to put a lid on their ambitions.

Chris Sutton
Former England forward's World Cup predictions

This is to decide who wins the group and the consequences are quite big - the runners-up would play the runners-up in Group D and then possibly run into Brazil in the last 16.

France's firepower is the reason I am backing them to win the World Cup and I am backing Kylian Mbappe to outscore Erling Haaland here, and help Les Bleus take the win.

I thought Norway had won the World Cup after seeing the way they celebrated their win over Senegal. They won't be doing the same after this game.

France and Norway have already qualified and meet each other to battle for top spot on Friday (20:00 BST).

As France have the better goal difference, Norway must get a victory to finish first.

The group winners will play a third-placed team and the runners-up meet second in Group E.

Senegal (-3) and Iraq (-6) have zero points and if there is a winner they must hope three points is enough for a best third-place spot.

As both have poor goal difference, as it stands, it looks a tough task to make it through.

Scotland

If none of those favourable scenarios play out overnight then Scotland will be eliminated from the World Cup.

Manager Steve Clarke did not mince his words after their 3-0 defeat to Brazil in Miami, bluntly stating that he expected the squad to be going home.

Yet they must wait until group stages play out before it is confirmed whether or not they have missed out on qualification for the last 32.

Should at least one of tonight's scenarios play out in Scotland's favour then their fate will rest on the final round of group games.

However, the way Scotland's percentage chances have dwindled since before their defeat to Brazil would suggest that Clarke's fears were not misplaced: