The Uruguay national team received a relatively straightforward draw for the World Cup.
Apart from Spain , the South American squad was scheduled to meet debutant Cape Verde and perennial underperformer Saudi Arabia . However, the two-time World Cup champions are heading home prematurely following a 1-0 defeat to Spain on Friday.
The squad, spearheaded by Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde and former Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez , had initially planned to return to Uruguay via private aircraft. Instead, the AUF (Uruguay's soccer federation) has mandated that players return home on commercial airlines, as confirmed by Uruguayan outlet Tenfield.
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Even the enlarged 48-team format proved insufficient for Uruguay to advance as a third-place qualifier. Coach Marcelo Bielsa's squad managed only draws against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia, concluding with two points. Uruguay stands as the highest-ranked FIFA nation (19th) to miss out on qualification. Bielsa, 70, revealed post-match that he's resigning in a fiery rant.
"I've left Uruguayan football nothing because any type of support a country's soccer manager can give in a country where he has worked three years doesn't take if you don't get results," Bielsa said, via a translation.
"The fourth place in the World Cup qualifiers wasn't worth anything, third place in the Copa América wasn't worth anything, and obviously, I don't need to describe this showing. But if you ask me how my tenure will be remembered, as a tenure I've left nothing.
"The journalists, the Uruguayan supporters, you all want to blame me for what happened, and I must take that blame. It is the only right thing to do," he added.
Two controversial moments defined Bielsa's evening on Friday. The first involved veteran goalkeeper Fernando Muslera , a starter since the 2010 World Cup, who was pulled at halftime after a costly first-half mistake. "No, I didn't take [the decision]," Bielsa stated after the final whistle. "It's a decision Muslera took himself."
Backup Sergio Rochet stepped in for the second half.
The second flashpoint came when Bielsa hauled off Valverde in the 57th minute, replacing him with forward Federico Vinas. The Real Madrid star was furious and refused to shake his coach's hand as he left the field. "It's a decision Muslera took himself, and Valverde, I substituted him for Federico Viñas because I wanted to have a more attacking strategy," Bielsa said.
