Two-time champions Uruguay were eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the first round after a 0-1 defeat against Spain in their final Group H match. Uruguay completed the group stage without a single win to their name; their other two games – against Cabo Verde and Saudi Arabia – ended in draws. As a result, the South American side finished bottom of the group and were shown the door. The team’s horrendous performance in the tournament prompted the country’s football federation to cancel the charter plane they had originally arranged for the return journey.
According to reports in the El Pais newspaper and the TV network Tenfield, the players will now have to return home on commercial flights – and on separate planes, at that – rather than together as a squad.
Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa, who was confronted by his players over his tactics and training methods before the Spain game, was furious after the team’s early elimination. He even lost his cool during a post-match press conference.
“I’ve left Uruguayan football nothing, because any type of support a country’s football manager can give in a country where he has worked for three years doesn’t take hold if you don’t get results,” Bielsa said.
“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.”
This marks the second time Bielsa has coached a team at the World Cup and failed to qualify from the group stage. The first instance was when Argentina failed to make it through in the 2002 edition in South Korea and Japan. He previously helped Chile reach the round of 16 in South Africa in 2010, which remains his best World Cup result.