Marcelo Bielsa reveals reason behind Fernando Muslera substitution in Uruguay vs Spain at 2026 World Cup

Everyone was in shock to see Fernando Muslera subbed off vs Spain at 2026 World Cup. It’s not every day that a goalkeeper gets substituted unless it’s due to injury or some weird circumstance. Now, Uruguay‘s head coach Marcelo Bielsa revealed the reason of this change.

Bielsa said he didn’t spoke to Muslera at halftime, and that it was the goalkeeper himself the one that asked to be subbed off. “I didn’t make it [the decision of substituting the GK], that’s a decision Muslera himself made,” Bielsa revealed. However, Bielsa also explained why he subbed off Fede Valverde.

Hence, this cleared the air. The goalkeeper himself didn’t see fit continuing playing after a very bad half of soccer action in a must-win game vs. Spain. Despite the change, Uruguay still couldn’t right the ship and were eliminated from the 2026 World Cup.

Muslera was directly involved in Uruguay’s dismay

Uruguay conceded four goals in the 2026 World Cup, Muslera had a mistake in every single one of those actions. While the fact that Uruguay are eliminated from the tournament is not purely on Muslera, he did have a nightmare of a tournament.

And this is not new. Muslera also had costly howlers in previous editions of World Cups. For instance, in Uruguay’s quarterfinals match vs. France in Russia 2018, a weak, long-distance shot from Antoine Griezmann was grossly mishandled by Muslera, which made France had an unreachable two-goal lead in the game.

See also

2026 World Cup third-place standings with updates on Friday, June 26

In South Africa 2010’s match for third place, Bastian Schweinsteiger struck a long-range free-kick that Muslera spilled, allowing Thomas Muller to pounce and score the rebound. Muslera has been a constant presence for Uruguay, but his mistakes come in crucial moments against the Charruas‘ best interest.