While most national teams have already officially announced their squads, Uruguay made intriguing headlines. Marcelo Bielsa decided to call up only three forwards for the upcoming 2026 World Cup, leaving out Luis Suarez, who will not be able to play in his fifth edition of the tournament.
Rodrigo Aguirre, Federico Viñas and Darwin Nuñez are the only three players whose qualities fit the attacking front. Despite this situation, the manager overloaded the Uruguayan midfield.
After the official announcement, Suarez ended a streak of four consecutive World Cup call-ups: his debut was in South Africa 2010, followed by Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, and most recently Qatar 2022.
Bielsa’s picks to represent Uruguay
26 players were chosen by Marcelo Bielsa to compete in the World Cup in USA, Mexico, and Canada: 3 goalkeepers, 8 defenders, 12 midfielders, and 3 forwards—the representatives of La Celeste.
Goalkeepers: Sergio Rochet, Fernando Muslera, Santiago Mele
Defenders: Guillermo Varela, Ronald Araujo, Jose Maria Gimenez, Santiago Bueno, Sebastian Caceres, Mathias Olivera, Joaquin Piquerez, Matias Viña.
Midfielders: Manuel Ugarte, Emiliano Martinez, Rodrigo Bentancur, Federico Valverde, Agustin Canobbio, Juan Manuel Sanabria, Giorgian De Arrascaeta, Nicolas De la Cruz, Rodrigo Zalazar, Facundo Pellistri, Maximiliano Araujo, Brian Rodriguez
Forwards: Rodrigo Aguirre, Federico Viñas, Darwin Nuñez
What awaits Uruguay at the World Cup?
Uruguay are locked into Group H for the upcoming World Cup, and they have a pretty exciting, diverse opening slate lined up. La Celeste will kick off their tournament in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday, June 15 against Saudi Arabia, and they’ll stay right there in Florida for their second match against Cape Verde on Sunday, June 21.
For the group finale, they’ll head over to Mexico to face Spain at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara on Friday, June 26, in what promises to be an absolute banger to decide who might take the top spot.
