{"id":479014,"date":"2026-06-06T08:03:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T08:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/479014\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T08:03:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T08:03:08","slug":"uruguay-world-cup-2026-team-guide-uruguay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/479014\/","title":{"rendered":"Uruguay World Cup 2026 team guide | Uruguay"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is part of the Guardian\u2019s 2026 World Cup Experts\u2019 Network<\/a>, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.<\/p>\n

The plan<\/p>\n

Marcelo Bielsa has left his indelible mark on this Uruguay team. His 4-3-3 system is built for direct football, allowing his side to press their opponents high up the field and chase the ball at all times. There is no letup in attacking when Uruguay have possession.<\/p>\n

It has been a rollercoaster ride in the three years that the former Leeds manager has been in charge, which have included a World Cup qualifying campaign (finishing fourth out of 10 in the Conmebol standings) and the 2024 Copa Am\u00e9rica (finishing third<\/a>). There was the extraordinary football played in the second half of 2023, when Argentina<\/a> and Brazil were beaten<\/a>, before Uruguay went on a dismal run of one win in 12 (drawing a blank nine times) between July 2024 and June 2025. A 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the US<\/a> in November led to serious questions being asked of Bielsa. Faith was more or less restored in March when Uruguay drew 1-1 with England<\/a> and 0-0 with Algeria.<\/p>\n

Quick GuideUruguay: Group H fixturesShow<\/p>\n

15 June v Saudi Arabia, Miami (6pm local, 11pm BST, 16 June 8am AEST)<\/p>\n

21 June v Cape Verde, Miami (6pm local, 11pm BST, 22 June 8am AEST)<\/p>\n

26 June v Spain, Guadalajara (6pm local, 27 June 1am BST, 27 June 10am AEST)<\/p>\n

Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n

Uruguay do not have the scoring power of old. Luis Su\u00e1rez, who has more goals than anyone else, made himself unavailable for selection after a falling-out with Bielsa at the end of 2024, although he backtracked on that a few weeks before the World Cup<\/a> to say he would \u201cnever say no to the national team\u201d. With Edinson Cavani retiring after the last World Cup in Qatar, Bielsa is expected to pin his goalscoring hopes on Darwin N\u00fa\u00f1ez, who has struggled for form at Al-Hilal.<\/p>\n

Ignacio Alonso, the president of the Uruguayan Football Association, set the target: \u201cUruguay have to aspire to be in the world\u2019s top 10 and therefore we have to reach the quarter-finals.\u201d Alonso also addressed concerns over Uruguay\u2019s form. \u201cBielsa is very excited for the World Cup,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s got his mind focused on the preparations. His objective is to have a great World Cup. It\u2019s his aspiration, the result of all his work, research and preparation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Uruguay<\/a>The coach<\/p>\n

After the 5-1 humbling by the US, Marcelo Bielsa was seen as the man responsible. Upon their return to Montevideo, Bielsa called a press conference to say he was not resigning, that he had \u201cstrength\u201d to continue and admitted he was questioned by his players for his \u201cbehaviour\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bielsa went on to be astonishingly honest about his own shortcomings in the 90-minute press conference. \u201cI always say one word: I\u2019m toxic,\u201d he said. \u201cThose who get to know me often come off worse for having known me. Toxic. There are toxic people, who only see the mistakes \u2026 That behaviour is based on fear. You don\u2019t enjoy winning. You fear losing, much more than you enjoy winning.\u201d<\/p>\n

After leading Argentina in 2002 and Chile in 2010, Bielsa takes charge at his third World Cup.<\/p>\n

Star playerEverything goes through Federico Valverde, who has improved much since the last World Cup and is shaping up to be a good the leader for the team. Photograph: Marc Atkins\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Federico Valverde. The captain of Real Madrid arrives at this World Cup at his peak; at the age of 27 he is among the best in the world and is starting to be the leader Uruguayans hope can inspire their country to the later stages of the tournament. This is Valverde\u2019s second World Cup and his game has come on leaps and bounds since 2022. Everything goes through him and he\u2019ll have to be at his best if Uruguay are to compete with the best midfields. He arrives on the back of a fight with his club teammate Aur\u00e9lien Tchouam\u00e9ni but said: \u201cI feel very good. I had the support and affection of all the Real Madrid fans and also of the club.\u201d<\/p>\n

One to watch<\/p>\n

Maximiliano Ara\u00fajo started his career as a right-back, but earned his first move abroad, to Puebla in Mexico, thanks to his qualities as a winger. His performances in Mexico prompted a transfer to Toluca and opened the door to Europe with Sporting, where he has returned to his roots as a right-back. Bielsa took a gamble when selecting the defender for the first time in 2023, but he has been one of the success stories of his spell in charge. Ara\u00fajo offered the qualities Bielsa was looking for in his wingers \u2013 the ability to beat his defender one-on-one and overload the opposition.<\/p>\n

Unsung hero<\/p>\n

Federico Vi\u00f1as. The Real Oviedo striker could get his chance to shine due to the dip in form of N\u00fa\u00f1ez, Bielsa\u2019s main goal threat. Vi\u00f1as\u2019s story is one of sacrifice. He walked away from football at 15 before returning to the sport two years later.<\/p>\n

He broke through in Uruguay\u2019s second tier and was bought by an Am\u00e9rica side looking for a bargain buy up front. After a spell at Club Le\u00f3n he has spent the past two years in Spain and helped Real Oviedo win promotion to La Liga, scoring nine times in the top flight this season.<\/p>\n

Probable starting XIWhat to expect from fans at games?<\/p>\n

Uruguay\u2019s group games are spread across the US and Mexico, with plenty of sky blue-clad supporters expected in both countries. Those travelling to North America will be joined by those who migrated there long before this tournament, making a reunion of sorts between natives and expats. About 10,000 supporters are expected to attend matches in the US, which is impressive for a country of 3 million people.<\/p>\n

Relationship with the US\/Trump?<\/p>\n

Uruguay\u2019s centre-left ruling party, Frente Amplio, has criticised Donald Trump for his threats to take control of Cuba. The US president said in early May that the island could be taken over \u201calmost immediately\u201d as he signed an executive order significantly expanding US sanctions on the Cuban government<\/a> and its affiliates. Ampliosaid: \u201cThreats of military intervention will once again jeopardise the peace of the continent\u201d. The Uruguayan capital, Montevideo, meanwhile, is home to the only Trump Tower in South America, with construction completed in 2022.<\/p>\n

Written by Luis Inzaurralde for El Observador<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article is part of the Guardian\u2019s 2026 World Cup Experts\u2019 Network, a cooperation between some of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479015,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-479014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}