Uruguay national team- Uruguay is the champion of the Inaugural FIFA World Cup 1930. It hails from the South American regions and has bagged the tournament titles two times. Uruguay made it to the Qatar finals, becoming third in the list behind Brazil and Argentina.
One of the most successful nations of South American football, Uruguay, has won 15 titles of the COPA America Championship. Letโs explore Uruguayan football history, greatest players, current squad, and Qatar World Cup preparation here.
Brief History| Golden Generation of Uruguayan football
COPA America (1916-1930)
Uruguayan people started playing football in late of the eighteenth century. They formed the governing body Uruguayan Football Association in 1900. In 1901, Uruguay lost a friendly match against Argentina, which did not consider their first official match.
It was organized by the Uruguayan football club Albion FC. After a year, the Uruguayan national team invited Argentina to play their first official international match. During that match, Uruguay lost to Argentina with six goals.
Then, these two teams often played for a long time. In 1916, the South American football confederation (CONMEBOL) organized the first-ever regional championship, COPA America Cup. During that competition, four countries participated; Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. In the opening season, it won the title and made a record for South American nations to win the first major champions of the region so far.
Furthermore, the Uruguayan team was so influential in football that they won two gold medals in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics. Likewise, it won six times COPA America Championship before 1930.
1930 FIFA Inaugural World Cup
In the 1920s, Uruguay was an influential nation in soccer games, and they won several tournaments. As a result, they received the honor of hosting the first-ever World Cup. In group matches, they defeated Peru 1-0 and Romania with 4-0 goals. Likewise, in the semifinals, Uruguay scored six goals against Yugoslavia; in return, it scored only one goal.
In the tournament finals, the Uruguayan team defeated Argentina and made a record as the debutant World champions. In that match, Uruguay scored four, and Argentina could return only two goals. The winning team was led by a young manager Alberto Suppici who was only 31 then.
However, some European nations boycotted the tournament, and the team refused to participate in the 1934 World Cup. Only Brazil participated in the tournament from the South American region. And Uruguay returned to the 1950 World Cup-the first World Cup after ending the second World War.
Uruguayan FIFA World Cup History
After missing the tournament for two decades since the first World Cup, Uruguay regained the tournament title in 1950. In Brazil World Cup, The Sky Blue Team won all matches except one draw with Spain.
In the tournamentโs final, Uruguay surprised many host country fans by beating Brazil with 2-1 scores. Hence, Uruguay regained the championship title for the second time.
Then, it finished with the fourth position in the next Switzerland World Cup. In the 1958 edition, Uruguay failed to qualify. Then, it consecutively played for four World Cup back to back. Since then, it did not surpass the quarterfinals several times.
In 2010, it reached the semifinals after four decades but lost to the tournament runner-up, Netherlands. And in the third-place match, Germany defeated Uruguay. Hence, it finished in the fourth position.
Moreover, it went home from the pre-quarterfinals in the 2014 Brazil World Cup and the quarterfinals in Russia World Cup. The Blue Sky will also participate in the Qatar World Cup.
Top 10 Greatest Footballers of Uruguay
Uruguay produced several legendary footballers in the past. More than 100 notable players helped Uruguay to create history in world football; among them, the top ten are as follows.
- Pedro Rocha (Forward): 1961-74, 52 caps and 17 goals.
- Jose Nasazzi (Defender): 1923-37, 41 caps.
- Enzo Francescoli (Midfielder): 1982-97, 73 caps and 17 goals.
- Jose Leandro Andrade (Defender): 1923-30, 34 caps and one goal)
- Obdulio Varela: 1939-54, 45 caps and nine goals.
- Luis Suarez (Forward): 2007-present, 132 caps and 68 goals.
- Diego Forlan (Midfielder): 2002-14, 112 caps and 36 goals.
- Luis Cubilla (Midfielder): 1959-74, 38 caps and 11 goals.
- Hector Scarone (Forward): 1917-32, 52 caps and 31 goals.
- Juan Alberto Schiaffino(Midfielder): 1946-54, 21 caps and eight goals.
Top 3 Young Uruguayan Players of 2022
Here are the three young Uruguayan footballers to watch in the Qatar World Cup.
- Darwin Nunez (24) is one of Uruguayโs youngest players who play as a forward for English Premier League Club Liverpool. He has played 11 caps and scored two goals for the nation. He is one of the potential players of the Qatar World Cup.
- Facundo Pellistri (20)- He is also a potential player of Uruguay who currently plays for the Laliga club Deportivo Alaves on loan from Manchester United. He has played six caps for the nation.
- Mathias Olivera (24)- One of the rising defenders of Uruguay who currently plays for Italian club Napoli. He has made six appearances for the nation.
FIFA World Cup 2022 squad| Preparation
Uruguayan team will represent their fourteen world cup appearances this time. It will probably be the last world Cup for Uruguayan top scorer Luis Suarez and his fellow teammate Edinson Cavani. Likewise, it is the first world cup for emerging striker Darwin Nunez.
Rodrigo Bentancur will also impress his games as he plays well in the English club Tottenham Hotspurs. The team will face Portugal, Ghana, and South Korea in Group matches. The first match between Uruguay and South Korea will be at Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, on 24 November 2022.
The inaugural match of the Qatar World Cup will be on 20 November between Qatar and Ecuador.
Uruguayan coach Diego Alonso has been leading the team since 2021.
๐คฉ ยก๐๐ข๐๐ ๐จ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐จ ๐๐ง ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ง๐!
โ La Quinta Tribuna (@laquintatribuna) September 2, 2022
Hoy, a partir de las 19:00 h, no te pierdas el programa especial con entrevista al entrenador de la Selecciรณn Uruguaya, @AlonsoDT.
๐บ ยกRegistrate gratis y seguinos por https://t.co/Pey8chIiqz! pic.twitter.com/0u5e6vre65
The Blue Sky has not revealed their playing squad; however, they have announced a preliminary squad that will be a part of the world cup and a few friendly matches.
Uruguay will meet Iran, Canada, and Syria for friendly games before the tournament begins. As of September 2022, the team is preparing to perform best in the World Cup.
Goalkeeper
Fernando Muslera, Martin Campana, Sergio Rochet, Sebastian Sosa, Martin Silva and Gaston Olveira.
Defender
Erick Cabaco, Diego Godin, Matias Vina, Bruno Mendez, Marcelo Sarachhi, Sebastian Coates, Mauricio Lemos, Ronald Araujo, Jose Maria Gimenez, Damian Suarez, Mathias Suarez, Gaston Silva, Mathaias Olivera, Maxi Pereira, Emilliano Velazquez, Omar Caceres and Guillermo Varela.
Midfielder
Federico Valverde, Giovanni Gonzalez, Walter Gargano, Manuel Ugarte, Rodigo Bentancur, Brian Lozano, Nicolas De La Cruz, Chirstian Rodriguez, Diego Laxalt, Diego Rossi, Carlos Sanchez, Nahitan Nandez, Lucas Torreira, Matias Vecino, Brian Rodriguez, Gaston Pereiro and Mauro Arambarri.
Forward
Darwin Nunez, Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, Christian Stuani, Jonathan Rodriguez, Jonathan Urretavisaya and Maximiliano Gomez Gonzalez.
Related: Switzerland Football Squad for FIFA World Cup 2022 โ Qatar
