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Uruguay national football team

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 Uruguay
Nickname(s)[Los Charrúas
La Celeste] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (The Sky Blue One)
Association[[[Uruguayan Football Association|Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol]]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (AUF)
ConfederationCONMEBOL (South America)
Head coachÓscar Tabárez
CaptainLuis Suárez
Most capsDiego Forlán (112)
Top scorerLuis Suárez (45)[1]
Home stadiumEstadio Centenario, Montevideo
FIFA codeURU
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current9 Steady (5 May 2016)
Highest2 (July 2011)
Lowest76 (December 1998)
First international
 Uruguay 2–3 Argentina 
(Montevideo, Uruguay; 16 May 1901)[2]
Biggest win
 Uruguay 9–0 Bolivia 
(Lima, Peru; 9 November 1927)
Biggest defeat
 Uruguay 0–6 Argentina 
(Montevideo, Uruguay; 20 July 1902)
World Cup
Appearances12 (first in 1930)
Best resultChampions, 1930 and 1950
Copa America
Appearances42 (first in 1916)
Best resultChampions, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1956, 1959, 1967, 1983, 1987, 1995 and 2011
FIFA Confederations Cup
Appearances2 (first in 1997)
Best resultFourth Place, 1997 and 2013
Medal record
Olympic medal record
Men's football[3]
Gold medal – first place 1924 Paris Team
Gold medal – first place 1928 Amsterdam Team

The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez. The Uruguayan side is commonly referred to as La Celeste (The Sky Blue One) or Charrúas.

Uruguay are frequently South American champions, most recently having won the 2011 Copa América. Uruguay have won the Copa América a record 15 times. The team has twice won the FIFA World Cup, including the first World Cup in 1930 as hosts, defeating Argentina 4–2 in the final. They won their second title in 1950, upsetting hosts Brazil 2–1 in the final match, which received an attendance higher than any football match ever.

They have won the Gold Medals in football at the Summer Olympics twice, in 1924 and 1928, before the creation of the World Cup. Uruguay also won the 1980 Mundialito, a tournament among former World Cup champions. In total, Uruguay have won 20 official titles, a world record for the most international titles held by any country.

Their success is amplified by the fact that the nation has a very small population of around 3.4 million inhabitants (2011 est.). Uruguay is by far the smallest country in the world to have won a World Cup in terms of population, 1.75 million inhabitants in 1930. The second-smallest country, by population, to have won the World Cup is Argentina with a population of nearly 28 million people in 1978. Uruguay is also the smallest country ever to win any World Cup medals; only five nations with a currently smaller population than Uruguay's have ever participated in any World Cup: Northern Ireland (three times), Slovenia (twice), Wales, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Uruguay is also the smallest nation to win Olympic gold medals in any team sport.

History

Uruguay before its second official match (vs. Argentina), in July 1902
The team that won its second Gold Medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics.

In 1901, Uruguay played against Argentina in their first ever match, a close contest won by Argentina 3–2. Prior to 1916, Uruguay played more than 30 matches, of which all but one were against Argentina. The inaugural Copa America provided Uruguay with more varied opposition. Victories over Chile and Brazil, along with a tie against Argentina, enabled Uruguay to win the tournament. The following year Uruguay hosted the competition, and retained the title by winning every game. The 1919 Copa América saw Uruguay's first defeat in the tournament, a 1–0 defeat in a playoff with Brazil which went to two periods of extra time, the longest Copa América match in history.[citation needed]

In 1924, the Uruguay team traveled to Paris to become the first South American team to compete in the Olympic Games. In contrast to the physical style of the European teams of the era, Uruguay played a style based around short passes,[4] and won every game, defeating Switzerland 3–0 in the gold medal match. In the 1928 Summer Olympics, Uruguay went to Amsterdam to defend their title, again winning the gold medal after defeating Argentina 2–1 in the final. FIFA assumed the responsibility of the organization of the Football Games to be played by FIFA rules and the tournaments would be recognized as World Championships. It only happened twice (1924/1928 Summer Olympics Games) until the creation of it own FIFA World Championship, the FIFA World Cup, in 1930.[5]

The team that beat Brazil in the decisive match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup to win Uruguay's second FIFA World Cup.

Following the double Olympic triumph, Uruguay was chosen as the host nation for the first World Cup, held in 1930, the centenary of Uruguay's first constitution. During the World Cup, Uruguay won all its matches, and converted a 1–2 half-time deficit to a 4–2 victory against Argentina at the Estadio Centenario. Due to the refusal of some European teams to participate in the first World Cup, the Uruguayan Football Association urged other countries to reciprocate by boycotting the 1934 World Cup played in Italy. For the 1938 World Cup, France was chosen as host, contrary to a previous agreement to alternate the championships between South America and Europe, so Uruguay again refused to participate.

Uruguay again won the World Cup in 1950, beating hosts Brazil in one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. The decisive match was at the Maracanã Stadium in Brazil. Uruguay came from behind to beat the host nation in a match which would become known as the Maracanazo. Many Brazilians had to be treated for shock after the event, such was the surprise of Uruguay's victory.[6]

After their fourth-place finish in the 1954 World Cup, the team had mixed performances and after the fourth-place finish in 1970, their dominance, quality and performance dropped. They were no longer a world football power and failed to qualify for the World Cup on five occasions in the last nine competitions. They reached an all-time low and at one time ranked 76th in the FIFA World Rankings.

In 2010, however, a new generation of footballers, led by Luis Suárez, Diego Forlán and Edison Cavani, formed a team considered to be Uruguay's best in the last four decades, catching international attention after finishing fourth in the 2010 World Cup. Uruguay opened the tournament with a goalless draw against France, followed by defeats of South Africa (3–0) in and Mexico (1–0) respectively, finishing at the top of their group with seven points. In the second round, they played South Korea, defeating them 2–1 with striker Luis Suárez scoring a brace and earning Uruguay a spot in the quarter-finals for the first time since 1970. Against Ghana, the match finished 1–1, forcing the game into extra-time. Ghana nearly scored a winning goal but, to the outrage of the Ghanaians, Suárez purposely blocked the ball with his hand in the penalty area, earning him a red card. Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan missed the subsequent penalty, forcing the game to go into penalties where Uruguay would win 4–2, sending them into the last four. They played the Netherlands in the semifinals but were beaten 3–2. For the third-place match, they played Germany, again losing 3–2. This placed Uruguay in fourth place for the tournament, their best result in 40 years.

A year later, they won the Copa America for the first time in 16 years and broke the record for the most successful team in South America.

In the 2014 World Cup Uruguay was placed in Group D alongside Costa Rica, England, and Italy. They were upset by Costa Rica in the opening match, losing 3–1 despite taking the lead in the first half. They rebounded with a 2–1 victory over England and a 1–0 victory over Italy, placing them second in their group and earning a spot in the last 16. During the match against Italy, forward Luis Suárez bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini on his left shoulder. Two days after the match, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee banned Suárez for nine international matches, the longest such ban in World Cup history, exceeding the eight-match ban handed to Italy's Mauro Tassotti for breaking the nose of Spain's Luis Enrique in 1994.[7][8][9] Suárez was also banned from taking part in any football-related activity (including entering any stadium) for four months and fined CHF100,000 (approx. £65,700/€82,000/US$119,000).[7][8][10] In the round of 16, Uruguay played Colombia but were beaten 2–0, eliminating them from the tournament.

Stadium

Since 1930, Uruguay have played their home games at the Estadio Centenario in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo. The stadium was built as a celebration of the centenary of Uruguay's first constitution, and had a capacity of 90,000 when first fully opened.[11] The stadium hosted several matches in the 1930 World Cup, including the final, which was watched by a crowd of 93,000.[12] Crowds for Uruguay's home matches vary greatly depending on the importance of the match and the quality of the opposition. World Cup qualifying matches often attract crowds of between 50,000 and 73,000.

Uruguay's stadium Estadio Centenario is one of the biggest stadiums in the world over 100m wide and 100m long.

Kits

Uruguay at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, wearing the light blue shirt they have worn since 1910.

Between 1901 and 1910, Uruguay wore a variety of different shirts during matches, including solid green and white tops, and even a shirt modeled from the Flag of Artigas. On April 10, 1910, now-defunct River Plate F.C. defeated Argentine team Alumni by 2-1, being the first time an Uruguayan team beat legendary Alumni. That day River Plate wore its alternate jersey, a light blue one due to the home jersey was similar to Alumni's. Ricardo LeBas proposed Uruguay to wear a light blue jersey as a tribute to the victory of River Plate over Alumni. This was approved by president of the Uruguayan Association, Héctor Gómez.[13]

The red jersey that is used in today's away strip was first used at the 1935 Copa América, held in Santa Beatriz in Peru, which Uruguay won. It was not worn again (except for a 1962 FIFA World Cup match, against Colombia[14]) until 1991, when it was officially adopted as the away jersey.

Four stars appear above the team logo on the jersey. Two represent Uruguay's 1930 and 1950 World Cup victories, and the other two represent the gold medals received at the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics and recognised by FIFA as World Championships.[5]

1901 (a)
1901–1910 (b)
1901–10 (b)
1901–10 (b)
1901–10 (b)(c)
1901–10 (b)
1910–present [13]
1935-2010 (away) (d)

Current team status

2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification Standings
Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)

Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONMEBOL table

2016 Copa América Centenario
Main article: [[:2016 Copa América Centenario]]

Group Stage

Template:Fb cl2 header navbar Template:Fb cl2 team Template:Fb cl2 team Template:Fb cl2 team Template:Fb cl2 team

Uruguay v Mexico
Venezuela v Uruguay
Uruguay v Jamaica



Recent games

Players

Current squad

The following 35 players were selected for the Copa America Centenario preliminary squad.
Caps and goals, correct on March 30, 2016 subsequent to the match against Peru.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Fernando Muslera (1986-06-16) June 16, 1986 (age 38) 79 0 Turkey Galatasaray
1GK Martín Silva (1983-03-25) March 25, 1983 (age 41) 7 0 Brazil Vasco da Gama
1GK Martín Campaña (1989-05-29) May 29, 1989 (age 35) 0 0 Argentina Independiente
1GK Rodrigo Muñoz (1982-01-22) January 22, 1982 (age 42) 0 0 Paraguay Libertad
1GK Gastón Guruceaga (1995-03-15) March 15, 1995 (age 29) 0 0 Uruguay Peñarol
2DF Maxi Pereira (1984-06-08) June 8, 1984 (age 40) 110 3 Portugal Porto
2DF Diego Godín (1986-02-16) February 16, 1986 (age 38) 97 7 Spain Atlético Madrid
2DF Álvaro Pereira (1985-11-28) November 28, 1985 (age 38) 78 7 Spain Getafe
2DF Jorge Fucile (1984-11-19) November 19, 1984 (age 39) 46 0 Uruguay Nacional
2DF José María Giménez (1995-01-20) January 20, 1995 (age 29) 25 3 Spain Atlético Madrid
2DF Mauricio Victorino (1982-10-11) October 11, 1982 (age 41) 23 0 Uruguay Nacional
2DF Sebastián Coates (1990-10-07) October 7, 1990 (age 33) 22 0 Portugal Sporting
2DF Gastón Silva (1994-03-05) March 5, 1994 (age 30) 2 0 Italy Torino
2DF Emiliano Velázquez (1994-04-30) April 30, 1994 (age 30) 1 0 Spain Getafe
2DF Guillermo Varela (1993-03-24) March 24, 1993 (age 31) 0 0 England Manchester United
3MF Cristian Rodríguez (1985-09-30) September 30, 1985 (age 38) 91 9 Argentina Independiente
3MF Egidio Arévalo Ríos (1982-01-01) January 1, 1982 (age 42) 77 0 Mexico Atlas
3MF Álvaro González (1984-10-29) October 29, 1984 (age 39) 62 3 Mexico Atlas
3MF Nicolás Lodeiro (1989-03-21) March 21, 1989 (age 35) 44 3 Argentina Boca Juniors
3MF Gastón Ramírez (1990-12-02) December 2, 1990 (age 33) 34 0 England Middlesbrough
3MF Carlos Sánchez (1984-12-02) December 2, 1984 (age 39) 16 0 Mexico Monterrey
3MF Mathías Corujo (1986-05-08) May 8, 1986 (age 38) 12 0 Chile Universidad de Chile
3MF Giorgian De Arrascaeta (1994-05-01) May 1, 1994 (age 30) 7 1 Brazil Cruzeiro
3MF Camilo Mayada (1991-01-08) January 8, 1991 (age 33) 4 0 Argentina River Plate
3MF Guzmán Pereira (1991-05-16) May 16, 1991 (age 33) 3 0 Chile Universidad de Chile
3MF Nahitan Nández (1995-12-28) December 28, 1995 (age 28) 3 0 Uruguay Peñarol
3MF Matías Vecino (1991-08-24) August 24, 1991 (age 33) 2 0 Italy Fiorentina
3MF Brian Lozano (1994-02-23) February 23, 1994 (age 30) 2 0 Mexico América
3MF Diego Laxalt (1993-02-07) February 7, 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Italy Genoa
4FW Luis Suárez (1987-01-24) January 24, 1987 (age 37) 84 45 Spain Barcelona
4FW Edinson Cavani (1987-02-14) February 14, 1987 (age 37) 80 30 France Paris Saint-Germain
4FW Cristhian Stuani (1986-12-10) December 10, 1986 (age 37) 27 5 England Middlesbrough
4FW Abel Hernández (1990-08-08) August 8, 1990 (age 34) 25 10 England Hull City
4FW Diego Rolán (1993-03-24) March 24, 1993 (age 31) 18 3 France Bordeaux
4FW Michael Santos (1993-03-13) March 13, 1993 (age 31) 2 0 Uruguay River Plate

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Uruguay squad in the past 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
DF Diego Polenta (1992-02-06) February 6, 1992 (age 32) 0 0 Uruguay Nacional v.  Peru, March 29, 2016
DF Martín Cáceres (1987-04-07) April 7, 1987 (age 37) 69 3 Italy Juventus v.  Chile, November 17, 2015 INJ
DF Matías Aguirregaray (1989-04-01) April 1, 1989 (age 35) 6 0 Uruguay Peñarol 2015 Copa América PRE
MF Walter Gargano (1984-07-23) July 23, 1984 (age 40) 64 1 Mexico Monterrey 2015 Copa América PRE
FW Jonathan Rodríguez (1993-07-06) July 6, 1993 (age 31) 9 1 Spain Deportivo La Coruña v.  Ecuador, November 12, 2015

INJ Withdrew due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
RET Retired from international football.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

  Champions    Runners-up    Third Place    Fourth Place  

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld Won Drawn* Lost GF GA Pld Won Drawn Lost GF GA Pos
Uruguay 1930 Champions 1st 4 4 0 0 15 3 Qualified as Hosts
Italy 1934 Refuse to participate Qualified as defending champions
France 1938
Brazil 1950 Champions 1st 4 3 1 0 15 5 Qualified automatically***
Switzerland 1954 Fourth Place 4th 5 3 0 2 16 9 Qualified as defending champions
Sweden 1958 Did Not Qualify 4 2 1 1 4 6 2/3
Chile 1962 Group Stage 13th 3 1 0 2 4 6 2 1 1 0 3 2 1/2
England 1966 Quarter-Finals 7th 4 1 2 1 2 5 4 4 0 0 11 2 1/2
Mexico 1970 Fourth Place 4th 6 2 1 3 4 5 4 3 1 0 5 0 1/3
West Germany 1974 Group Stage 13th 3 0 1 2 1 6 4 2 1 1 6 2 1/3
Argentina 1978 Did Not Qualify 4 1 2 1 5 4 2/3
Spain 1982 Did Not Qualify 4 1 2 1 5 5 2/3
Mexico 1986 Round of 16 16th 4 0 2 2 2 8 4 3 0 1 6 4 1/3
Italy 1990 Round of 16 16th 4 1 1 2 2 5 4 3 0 1 7 2 1/3
United States 1994 Did Not Qualify 8 4 2 2 10 7 3/5
France 1998 Did Not Qualify 16 6 3 7 18 21 7/9
South Korea Japan 2002 Group Stage 26th 3 0 2 1 4 5 18 7 6 5 19 13 5/10
Germany 2006 Did Not Qualify 18 6 7 5 23 28 5/10
South Africa 2010 Fourth Place 4th 7 3 2(1*) 2 11 8 18 6 6 6 28 20 5/10
Brazil 2014 Round of 16 12th 4 2 0 2 4 6 16 7 4 5 25 25 5/9
Russia 2018 To be determined
Qatar 2022
Total 2 titles 12/20 51 20 12 19 80 71 128 56 36 36 175 141 5/10

FIFA World Cup Interconfederations Qualification Games

FIFA World Cup Interconfederations Qualification Games Record
Year Against Pld Won Drawn* Lost GF GA Dif Result
South Korea Japan 2002  Australia 2 1 0 1 3 1 2 Q
Germany 2006  Australia 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 NQ
South Africa 2010  Costa Rica 2 1 1 0 2 1 1 Q
Brazil 2014  Jordan 2 1 1 0 5 0 5 Q
Total Various 8 4 2 2 11 3 8 3/4
All Time Totals Various 136 60 38 38 186 144 42 9/15
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. Darker color indicates win, normal color indicates lost.
**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
***Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and Paraguay qualified automatically after the withdrawal of Argentina, Ecuador and Peru by default.

FIFA Confederations Cup

  Champions    Runners-up    Third Place    Fourth Place  

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year Round Position Pld Won Drawn * Lost GF GA Squad
Saudi Arabia 1992 Did Not Qualify
Saudi Arabia 1995
Saudi Arabia 1997 Fourth Place 4th 5 3 0 2 8 6 Squad
Mexico 1999 Did Not Qualify
South Korea Japan 2001
France 2003
Germany 2005
South Africa 2009
Brazil 2013 Fourth Place 4th 5 2 1 2 14 7 Squad
Russia 2017 Did Not Qualify
Qatar 2021 To Be Determined
Total Fourth Place 2/11 10 5 1 4 22 13 -

South American Championship

  Champions    Runners-up    Third Place    Fourth Place  

South American Championship
Year Round Position GP Won Drawn* Lost GS GA
Argentina 1916 Champions 1st 3 2 1 0 06 01
Uruguay 1917 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 09 00
Brazil 1919 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 1 0 07 04
Chile 1920 Champions 1st 3 2 1 0 09 02
Argentina 1921 Third Place 3rd 3 1 0 2 03 04
Brazil 1922 Third Place 3rd 4 2 1 1 03 01
Uruguay 1923 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 06 01
Uruguay 1924 Champions 1st 3 2 1 0 08 01
Argentina 1925 Withdrew
Chile 1926 Champions 1st 4 4 0 0 17 02
Peru 1927 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 15 03
Argentina 1929 Third Place 3rd 3 1 0 2 04 06
Peru 1935 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 06 01
Argentina 1937 Third Place 3rd 5 2 0 3 11 14
Peru 1939 Runners-up 2nd 4 3 0 1 13 05
Chile 1941 Runners-up 2nd 4 3 0 1 10 01
Uruguay 1942 Champions 1st 6 6 0 0 21 02
Chile 1945 Fourth Place 4th 6 3 0 3 14 06
Argentina 1946 Fourth Place 4th 5 2 0 3 11 09
Ecuador 1947 Third Place 3rd 7 5 0 2 21 08
Brazil 1949 Sixth Place 6th 7 2 1 4 14 20
Peru 1953 Third Place 3rd 6 3 1 2 15 06
Chile 1955 Fourth Place 4th 5 2 1 2 12 12
Uruguay 1956 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 09 03
Peru 1957 Third Place 3rd 6 4 0 2 15 12
Argentina 1959 Sixth Place 6th 6 2 0 4 15 14
Ecuador 1959 Champions 1st 4 3 1 0 13 01
Bolivia 1963 Withdrew
Uruguay 1967 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 13 02
Total 11 Titles 27/29 119 75 11 33 300 141

Copa América

  Champions    Runners-up    Third Place    Fourth Place  

Copa América
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
South America 1975 Fourth Place 4th 2 1 0 1 1 3
South America 1979 Group Stage 6th 4 1 2 1 5 5
South America 1983 Champions 1st 8 5 2 1 12 6
Argentina 1987 Champions 1st 2 2 0 0 2 0
Brazil 1989 Runners-up 2nd 7 4 0 3 11 3
Chile 1991 Group Stage 5th 4 1 3 0 4 3
Ecuador 1993 Quarter-Finals 6th 4 1 2 1 5 5
Uruguay 1995 Champions 1st 6 4 2 0 11 4
Bolivia 1997 Group Stage 9th 3 1 0 2 2 2
Paraguay 1999 Runners-up 2nd 6 1 2 3 4 9
Colombia 2001 Fourth Place 4th 6 2 2 2 7 7
Peru 2004 Third Place 3rd 6 3 2 1 12 10
Venezuela 2007 Fourth Place 4th 6 2 2 2 8 9
Argentina 2011 Champions 1st 6 3 3 0 9 3
Chile 2015 Quarter-Finals 7th 4 1 1 2 2 3
United States 2016 Qualified
Brazil 2019
Ecuador 2023
Total 4 Titles 15/15 74 32 23 19 95 72

Olympics record

  Gold    Silver    Bronze  

Olympics record
Year Round Position GP Won Drawn* Lost GS GA
United Kingdom 1908 Did not participate
Sweden 1912
Belgium 1920
France 1924 Gold medal 1st 5 5 0 0 20 2
Netherlands 1928 Gold medal 1st 5 4 1 0 12 5
Nazi Germany 1936 Withdrew[16]
1948 to 1972 Did not Qualify
Canada 1976 Withdrew[17]
1980 to 2008 Did not Qualify
United Kingdom 2012 Group Stage 9th 3 1 0 2 2 4
Brazil 2016 To be determined
Japan 2020
Total 2 Gold Medal 3/25 13 10 1 2 34 11

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
1951 to 1959 Did not enter - - - - - - -
Brazil 1963 Fourth Place 4th 4 1 0 3 4 6
1967 to 1971 Did not enter - - - - - - -
Mexico 1975 Preliminary Round 11th 2 0 1 1 1 2
Puerto Rico 1979 Did not enter - - - - - - -
Venezuela 1983 Champions 1st 4 4 0 0 5 1
1987 to 1995 Did not enter - - - - - - -
Canada 1999 Preliminary Round 9th 4 0 1 3 2 9
2003 to 2007 Did not enter - - - - - - -
Mexico 2011 Third Place 3rd 5 2 1 2 6 8
Canada 2015 Champions 1st 5 4 0 1 8 2
Total 2 Titles 6/16 24 11 3 10 26 28

Honours

Note: The list above is for Senior and Olympic teams.

Minor tournaments

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