Uruguay Archives

Uruguay star Luis Suarez announces retirement from international football

Uruguay icon Luis Suarez announced his retirement from international football on Monday, confirming that he will hang up his boots following Friday’s 2026 World Cup qualifier against Paraguay in Montevideo.

“Friday will be my last match for my country,” an emotional Suarez, 37, told a press conference.

“It was not an easy decision to make, but I do it with the peace of mind that I will give my maximum until the very last game of my (Uruguay) career.”

The former Barcelona and Liverpool striker is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation and will retire from international football as Uruguay’s top scorer with 69 goals from 142 appearances.

Suarez, who was infamously kicked out of the 2014 World Cup after being handed a four-month ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini, made his debut for Uruguay in 2007.

The Inter Miami forward helped Uruguay capture the 2011 Copa America, where he was named player of the tournament, and would eventually represent the South American country in nine major tournaments.

Suarez said Monday that inspiring Uruguay to that Copa crown had been the high point of his career.

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“I wouldn’t trade the Copa America title for anything,” he said. “It was the best moment of my career. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

A dynamic, skilful attacker with a lethal eye for goal, Suarez was also never far from controversy.

As well as the biting incident that ended his involvement in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he was also one of the villains of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, when his cynical handball on the goal-line denied Ghana what would have been a late winner in the quarter-finals.

Luis Suarez was sent off for that offence and Ghana subsequently missed the ensuing penalty, allowing Uruguay to sneak into the semi-finals after a penalty shoot-out.

Controversy also dogged Suarez throughout his club career, notably in 2011 when he was handed an eight-game ban by authorities in England for allegedly racially abusing Manchester United’s France star Patrice Evra.

Suarez would later help Uruguay qualify for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and also featured in this summer’s Copa America where he was used largely as a substitute by coach Marcelo Bielsa. He scored his 69th international goal in a third place play-off victory over Canada.

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Uruguay down Canada on penalties to win Copa America third-place playoff

Luis Suarez rescued Uruguay with an injury-time equaliser before the South Americans defeated Canada 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out to win the third-place playoff match of Copa America on Saturday.

Uruguay looked to be heading to a shock defeat after the Canadians took a 2-1 lead in the 80th minute through a Jonathan David goal at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.

But former Barcelona and Liverpool star Suarez, who came on as a second-half substitute, swept in a crisp finish from Jose Gimenez in the second minute of injury time to make it 2-2 and send the game to penalties.

In the shoot-out, Canada midfielder Ismael Kone saw his spot-kick saved by Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet before Alphonso Davies saw an attempted panenka hit the crossbar and bounce out to give Uruguay victory.

It marked a disappointing end to the Copa America for Canada, who had been on course for a famous — and deserved — victory before Suarez’s late leveller.

Uruguay had got off to a dream start with Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur firing them into the lead after just eight minutes.

Sebastian Caceres outjumped his marker to knock down for Bentancur, who turned and swivelled before rifling a shot into the roof of the net.

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The Uruguayans almost doubled their lead soon afterwards when a sweeping counter-attack left Canada’s defence scrambling to cover, only for Maximiliano Araujo’s shot to be blocked by Canada goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.

That miss proved costly as moments later Kone equalised for Canada with a superb improvised finish on 22 minutes.

Jacob Shaffelburg’s corner was met with a header by Moise Bombito, and Kone lobbed the advancing Rochet with a deft flick to make it 1-1.

Uruguay thought they had equalised almost immediately when Facundo Pellistri got the ball in the net in the 23rd minute. An offside in the build-up however saw the goal chalked off.

Canada meanwhile twice spurned golden opportunities to score just before half-time, Tani Oluwaseyi heading wide from close range on 41 minutes before Jonathan Osorio saw an effort cleared off the line in the 43rd minute.

A flurry of substitutions led to a disjointed second half, and the game seemed to be meandering to a draw until Kone surged forward from midfield 10 minutes from time and unleashed a ferocious shot that Rochet could only parry into the path of David, who tucked away the finish to make it 2-1.

But with victory beckoning, Canada continued to press forward rather than defend their lead, and duly paid the price when Uruguay got in behind their defence to set up Suarez’s equaliser.

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Colombia defeat Uruguay to reach Copa America final

Ten-man Colombia defeated Uruguay 1-0 to reach the final of the Copa America for the first time in 23 years after an ill-tempered semi-final on Wednesday.

A 39th-minute Jefferson Lerma header sealed victory for the Colombians, who will now face defending Copa America champions Argentina in Sunday’s final in Miami.

It was an anarchic semi-final played in front of a packed and passionate crowd which ended with scuffles on the field and fighting in the stands, including several players who had climbed in among supporters amid the flying punches.

Colombia, despite having Daniel Munoz sent off just before the interval and facing plenty of Uruguay pressure, hung on for a famous victory to the delight of their massive following of fans.

The win was the 28th game without defeat for Colombia, setting a new record for the team.

The downtown streets of the North Carolina city were packed with partying fans in bright yellow Colombia jerseys hours before the kick-off.

Not surprisingly in such an atmosphere, Colombia started strongly with their livewire Liverpool winger Luis Diaz doing well to wriggle some space for a cross on the left, finding Daniel Munoz at the back post but the full-back’s header was off target.

Uruguay were, as always, a threat on the counter-attack and their Liverpool star, Darwin Nunez was close to finishing off one break when Rodr Bentancur found him with a clever pass but the forward poked his shot wide.

Nunez had another opening when Maximiliano Araujo played him clear in the inside-right channel but the striker rushed his shot, blasting high and wide.

At the other end, Colombia forced a turnover which led to James Rodriguez curling in a cross from the right but Jhon Cordoba’s header was off target.

The breakthrough came in the 39th minute when Lerma rose majestically above Jose Maria Gimenez and powerfully headed home Rodriguez’s corner.

It was the sixth assist of the tournament for Rodriguez with the former Real Madrid midfielder beating the record for most assists in a single Copa, which was set by Lionel Messi in 2021.

Colombia looked to make the most of their momentum with Richard Rios forcing a save out of Uruguay keeper Sergio Rochet, after being played in by Munoz.

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But having been so influential down the right in the opening half, Munoz lost his head completely, just before the break, picking up a second yellow card, after landing an elbow on Manuel Ugarte.

It was a moment of madness which left Colombia to defend their lead with just 10 men for the entire second half.

Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo took off Rodriguez, who was also on a yellow card, in the 62nd minute as Uruguay gradually began to turn their numerical advantage into real pressure.

Nicolas de la Cruz threatened with a low drive before substitute Luis Suarez clipped the outside of the post with a drive from the edge of the box after good work from Federico Valverde.

Valverde, the Real Madrid midfielder, then went close himself with a low drive as Colombia’s back-line continued to ride their luck.

Giveaway from Uruguay’s keeper and fell to Mateus Uribe, who despite time and space placed his shot wide of the post.

In stoppage time Uruguay had a great chance to force penalties when Nunez laid the ball off to substitute Giorgian de Arrascaeta on the edge of the box but he leaned back and put his shot over the bar.

There was still time for Uribe to waste another chance to make sure of the win, this time hitting the bar in the final minute, but he will be forgiven for his wastefulness by the delirious Colombian supporters.

Uruguay’s Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa took the blame for being unable to craft a win against ten men in the second half.

“Uruguay were clearly in a position to win this game…I take special responsibility for not having been able to establish an advantage when we had the players capable of doing so,” he said.

His compatriot and counterpart Lorenzo said he and his team had been rewarded for their positive approach to the game.

“We took the lead, the risk, and we were even brave. When we were down one we kept two strikers…and that is an act of courage that was rewarded,” he said.

The celebrations were marred by ugly scenes in the stands will concern organizers CONMEBOL ahead of the Copa America final, which is sure to attract huge numbers of Argentines as well as Colombians.

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Uruguay beat Brazil on penalties to reach Copa America semi-finals

Uruguay beat Brazil on penalties (4-2) to reach the semi-finals of Copa America after an ugly game ended goalless on Saturday.

Uruguay, who finished the game with ten men after Nahitan Nandez was sent off in the 74th minute, will face Colombia in Charlotte, North Carolina, in their semi-final on Wednesday.

Colombia, now unbeaten in 27 games, beat Panama 5-0 in Saturday’s other quarter-final earlier in Arizona.

The other semi-final, in New Jersey on Tuesday, will see world champions Argentina face surprise package Canada.

For five-times world champions Brazil it was a disappointing early end to a tournament in which they never truly clicked, and a lot of work remains to be done if Dorival Junior’s team are to be in shape to compete for the title in the 2026 World Cup.

In a city better known for boxing than for the beautiful game, it was a bruising contest with little quality play and a tournament-high 41 fouls.

A poor quality playing field hardly helped with both teams struggling to produce their best football on an uneven surface.

The first – and best – chance of a game of few opportunities came in the 35th minute when Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez had a clear header in front of goal but mistimed his effort which flew wide off his shoulder.

Within moments, Brazil created an opening of their own with Raphinha breaking clear, but Uruguay keeper Sergio Rochet stayed tall and made a vital save.

Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay were as tenacious as always, harrying Brazil in midfield and never afraid to interrupt their flow with a foul.

Brazil resorted too often to long balls forward but with only their 17-year-old talent Endrick, in for the suspended Vinicius Junior, as a central striker they lacked the physical presence to make that approach effective.

The game deteriorated the longer it went on with foul after foul, not deterred by lenient refereeing.

But Uruguay’s hopes of wearing Brazil down were dealt a blow when Nandez hacked down Rodrygo with a dangerous slide into his ankle and after a VAR review, the defender was sent off.

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From then on it was clear that Uruguay were simply trying to make it to full-time and penalties and with no extra-time in Copa America, they were able to achieve their aim.

After Federico Valverde scored with the first spot kick, Eder Militao saw his effort saved by the diving Rochet.

When Douglas Luiz hit the post for Brazil, they trailed 3-1 and Jose Gimenez had the chance to clinch the game for Uruguay. His effort was superbly saved by Alisson Becker.

Substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored to keep Brazil alive but midfielder Manuel Ugarte kept his cool to drive home the decisive kick and send the 15-times Copa champions into the last four.

Bielsa praised his team’s calmness in the shoot-out and their desire during the 90 minutes.

“I’m more seduced by attacking than defending, but I have to appreciate that in a tight game we created one more situation than our opponents, we defended well and we played 15 minutes with one less player, which at this level is a real factor,” he said.

“If you ask me if I’m happy with having created three goal situations in 90 minutes, no, I’m not. But our opponents had two,” he said.

“Today we outplayed Brazil in segments of the game and were outplayed in others,” added the Argentine.

For Brazil, the thoughts turn to the need to ensure they make it to the next World Cup after a poor start to CONMEBOL qualifying.

“We leave the tournament undefeated but not satisfied,” said Dorival Junior whose team won once and drew twice in the group stage.

“We didn’t play at a high level from a technical point of view, but I don’t dismiss any of the games. I think there was commitment, and a fighting spirit. At no time did the team stop going for the result,” he added.

“This process needs patience. We have two years to work before the World Cup. The first thing is to qualify for the World Cup because we are sixth in the (South American qualifiers) and it is a position that makes us uncomfortable,” he said.

The Copa America final will be held in Miami on July 14.

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Uruguay hand Argentina first loss since World Cup 2022 triumph

Uruguay ended the 14-match unbeaten streak of Argentina with a 2-0 victory over the world champions in World Cup qualifiers on Thursday.

Defender Ronald Araujo fired Uruguay ahead in 41 minutes before Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez made the game safe with an 87th-minute goal on the counterattack to settle a hard-fought clash at the Bombonera Stadium in Buenos Aires.

It was Lionel Messi and Argentina’s first defeat of the World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign, and their first loss since they were stunned 2-1 by Saudi Arabia at the World Cup 2022 in Qatar before becoming the eventual champions.

“We never felt comfortable,” Messi said after the defeat.

“They’re a physical team that works well and on the counterattack, they were very dangerous,” added Messi, praising the work of Uruguay’s revered Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa.

“You can see his hand in the team. In all the teams or clubs he’s been involved in, including Argentina, you can see his hand,” said Messi.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni meanwhile backed his team to recover from the loss against Uruguay before next week’s showdown with Brazil.

“There is a very difficult game coming up and we will try to do our best; I think this team has shown plenty of times that it can get out of difficult situations,” Scaloni said.

“We lose and win as a team, and there are times when you have to give credit to the opponent,” Scaloni added.

“We can’t think that because we’re world champions, we can’t lose. We are not unbeatable — I’ve said it before and will continue to say it.”

Argentina, who had won all four of their opening qualifiers, remain on top of the standings with 12 points from five matches. Uruguay’s win leaves them in second place on 10 points.

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