Reading El País digital I find an article entitled
España se la juega el último día del año con el AVE a La Meca
Looking in the dictionary of the language I find many meaning for jugar but none which seems to resolve my doubts about the headline. The best option is a verbal phrase at the end
jugársela, o jugárselas a alguien
1. locs. verbs. Comportarse con él mal o de modo desleal.
The main theme of the article is that the programme of work is not going very well if that helps to answer my question without having to read the whole article.