Uruguay topped Group C with a perfect record, clinching a spot in the 2024 Copa America quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over the United States. However, they will be without their historic goal scorer Edinson Cavani for the match against Brazil.
Edinson Cavani is Uruguay’s second top scorer with 58 goals scored in 136 games behind Luis Suarez and is the Uruguayan player with the highest number of World Cup appearances (17).
Despite a strong squad featuring forwards like Luis Suarez and Darwin Nuñez, it’s surprising that manager Marcelo Bielsa did not call up one of Uruguay’s most iconic players.
Edinson Cavani out of quarter-final match against Brazil
Edinson Cavani will not be at the 2024 Copa America quarter-final match against Brazil because he retired from the national team on May 30th, just weeks before the tournament began.
Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani of Uruguay sing the national anthem prior to a match between Brazil and Uruguay. Buda Mendes/Getty Images
Cavani announced his retirement from international football via social media: “There were undoubtedly many precious years, I would have a thousand things to say, tell, and remember, but today I want to dedicate myself to this new stage of my career and give everything where I have to be. Today I decide to step aside, but I will always follow you with a beating heart, as when I had to go out on the field with this beautiful shirt.”
He concluded: “Thanks to each and every one of the people who have been part of this journey for so many years. I was and will always be blessed to have put on this jersey to represent what I love most in the world, my country.”
