Guadalajara, June 27 (IANS) Marcelo Bielsa accepted responsibility for Uruguay’s World Cup exit on Friday, saying he had failed to get the best out of his squad.

The two-time champion were eliminated after a 1-0 defeat to Spain left it third in Group H with two points from three matches.

“I wasn’t able to get the best out of the quality Uruguay has in its players,” Bielsa was quoted by Xinhua as saying. “I couldn’t get the level of the individual players to come together as a team that reflected their quality.”

The Argentine manager also defended two decisions that drew attention during the match: replacing captain Federico Valverde with Uruguay chasing an equalizer and goalkeeper Fernando Muslera’s halftime departure.

Bielsa said Valverde’s withdrawal in the 56th minute was intended to make Uruguay more dangerous in the final third.

“I wanted the team to have a greater attacking presence,” he said. “The objective was to create more scoring opportunities.”

Television cameras later showed the Real Madrid midfielder in tears on the substitutes’ bench.

Muslera was replaced by Sergio Rochet at halftime after allowing Alex Baena’s first-half shot to slip through his gloves for the only goal of the match. Bielsa said the veteran goalkeeper requested the change himself.

“That wasn’t my decision,” Bielsa said. “It was Muslera’s own decision.”

He called for criticism of the former Lazio and Galatasaray player to be restrained.

“He has tremendous character and is a great player,” Bielsa said. “I think we’re judging him too harshly.”

Spain topped the group with seven points from their two wins and a draw, with tournament newboys Cape Verde taking the second knockout spot on three draws. Uruguay departed with just two points, the same as last-placed Saudi Arabia.

Baena opened the scoring in the 42nd minute by finding some space on the edge of the box and blasting a shot through experienced Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.

It was a bit of an odd goal, with both Manuel Ugarte and Lamine Yamal having treatment on the field as play continued, but Baena did not hesitate.

–IANS

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