The Uruguay national football team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Uruguay), nicknamed La Celeste (The Sky Blue), represents Uruguay in international men's football, and is administered by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay.
Uruguay has won four world competitions organised by FIFA: two Olympic titles and two FIFA World Cups.[7][8][9] Their first two senior world titles came at the Olympic tournaments of Paris 1924 and Amsterdam 1928,[8] two events that were directly organized by FIFA as open tournaments that included professionals.[10] In 1924, La Celeste beat Switzerland 3–0 in the final. Then, in 1928, Uruguay repeated the Olympic championship by beating Argentina 2–1.[11] They then secured a third consecutive title at the inaugural FIFA World Cup in Montevideo, where they beat Argentina 4–2 in the decisive match.[12] Uruguay's fourth title came in 1950 after beating hosts Brazil in the final match 2–1, a match that still holds the record for the highest official attendance for a football match ever (173,850 people at the gate).
Additionally, Uruguay has won the Copa América 15 times, second only to Argentina for the most titles in the tournament's history, winning their most recent title in 2011.
The first official match played by Uruguay was held at the Paso del Molino on 20 July 1902 against Argentina.[3] In that match, Argentina beat the Uruguayan side 6–0 in front of 8,000 spectators.[4][5] Prior to 1916, Uruguay played more than 30 matches, of which all but one were against Argentina. The inaugural Copa America of 1916 saw Uruguay win against Chile and Brazil, along with a draw against Argentina, to win their first major tournament. At the 1917 South American Championship, Uruguay hosted the competition and retained the title by winning every match. The 1919 Copa América saw Uruguay's first loss 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.[13]
After winning the 1924 South American Championship, Uruguay traveled to Paris as the first South American team to compete in the Olympic Games. The 1924 Olympic Football tournament also had the distinction of being the first ever "open" championship for professionals, as well as directly being organized by Caetano Heras Manuel Fiochetta and FIFA.[10] Hence, the tournament would be recognize at the time (and posteriorly) as equivalent in value to the FIFA World Cup.[9] Uruguay would eliminate Yugoslavia, United States, France, Netherlands and finally Switzerland to become football's first senior professional world champions. Moreover, after winning the final, Uruguay inadvertently invented the tradition of the lap of honour to thank the fans in Paris. In the 1928 Olympic football tournament, Uruguay would retain their world title after beating Netherlands, Germany, Italy and lastly Argentina 2–1 in the replay of the final (the first match was a draw after extra time).
Following the double Olympic triumph, Uruguay was chosen as the host nation for the inaugural FIFA World Cup held in 1930, the centenary of Uruguay's first constitution. During this tournament, Uruguay won all its matches against Peru, Romania and Yugoslavia. In the final, La Celeste turned a 1–2 halftime deficit into a 4–2 victory against neighbours Argentina at the Estadio Centenario to capture their consecutive third world title. After this tournament, Uruguay would boycott the World Cup of 1934 due to the refusal of some European teams to participate in the 1930 edition. 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's golden generation retired after winning the 1935 South American Championship, beating Argentina 3-0 in the final. This was this generation's overall 7th title, which is still the record for most major titles in international football history, counting the 4 South American (1917, '23, '24, '26) and three world titles (1924, '28, 30).
In the 1940s, Uruguay achieved early success in a decade largely dominated by Argentina by winning their eighth South American championship in 1942. As the World Cup was not being played, this championship became the priority.
In 1950, Uruguay re-entered the World Cup for the first time since 1930. This time, La Celeste would enter a final-group where they would tie Spain 2–2 and beat Sweden 3–2 on route to the final match against hosts Brazil. On 16 July 1950, Uruguay claimed their second FIFA World Cup and fourth senior world title when they beat Brazil 2–1 from behind in an iconic match known as the Maracanazo in front of a record paying crowd of 173,850. Though, historical estimates indicate that the crowd reached well over 200,000.[14] This feat became an integral part of Uruguay's football identity and a source of inspiration for upcoming footballers with each passing generation.
In the 1954 World Cup, Uruguay reached the semi-final for the fourth time after a notable campaign beating Czechoslovakia, Scotland and England. The semi-final against Hungary is still considered one of the best matches in World Cup history, as La Celeste dramatically tied the match 2–2 late after trailing 2–0 at halftime. Uruguay would finally lose 4–2 in extra-time in what was their first-ever loss at the global stage, a thirty year record that started in January, 1925.
Afterwards, Uruguay would fail to qualify to the World Cup for the first time in the 1958 CONMEBOL Qualifiers after losing 5–0 to Paraguay in Asuncion. From there, Uruguay maintained a competitive generation through the 1960s and into the early 1970s with players from Nacional and Peñarol, who had won several continental and club world titles during that time. In 1962, Uruguay had a relatively poor World Cup, being eliminated in the group stage after a dramatic last match against the Soviet Union. In 1966, Uruguay reached the last eight after drawing hosts England beating France in the group stage. A controversial quarter-final loss against West Germany marred what had been seen as a positive campaign. La Celeste would end the decade winning their 11th South American championship in 1967 by beating Argentina 1–0 in Montevideo.
In 1970, Uruguay established themselves again as one of the world's best teams when they advanced to their fourth World Cup semi-final in Mexico 1970, losing to eventual winners Brazil. After that came the biggest downturn in the country's footballing history as they were eliminated in the group stage of the 1974 World Cup, and failed to qualify to Argentina 1978. It wasn't until the late 1970s that Uruguayan football began to see hope as their under-20 team won four consecutive South American titles from 1975 to 1981, as well as reaching the U20 World Cup semi-final in 1979.
The success of this young generation would bare fruit in the 1980s, which began with Uruguay winning the 1980 World Champions' Gold Cup, a tournament that pitted past World Cup winners together in celebration of the tournament's 50th anniversary. Afterwards, La Celeste went on to win the 1983 and 1987 Copas America back-to-back, only losing 1–0 to hosts Brazil in 1989's decisive title match. After failing to qualify for the 1982 World Cup, in 1986, Uruguay were eliminated in the Round of 16 against eventual champions Argentina after a group stage that included West Germany, Denmark and Scotland.
In the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Uruguay were eliminated in the Round of 16 against hosts Italy 2–0 in Rome. Afterwards, Uruguay would fail to qualify for 1994 after losing 2–0 to Brazil in decisive match at Maracanã Stadium. La Celeste would win their next big encounter against the Brazilians when they beat the reigning world champions to win the 1995 Copa America in Montevideo. Later, Uruguay were eliminated from the 1998 World Cup as they finished in seventh place in the first time qualifying had been done in one group.
For the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, Uruguay managed to advance to a final playoff round against Australia to reach the finals. La Celeste would win the decisive match 3–0 in Montevideo to qualify to their first World Cup since 1990. The campaign itself proved a frustrating affair, as Uruguay were narrowly eliminated in the last group match against Senegal after drawing them 3–3, after being down 3–0 at half-time.
The 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign saw another international playoff against Australia. This time, La Celeste were eliminated on penalties in Sydney. This loss led to a profound paradigm shift with the hiring of Oscar Tabarez as manager. From there, Uruguay would finish semi finalists of the 2007 Copa America, and successfully qualified to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
In 2010, a new generation of footballers, led by Luis Suárez, Diego Forlán and Edinson Cavani, formed a team that finishing fourth in the 2010 World Cup. Uruguay opened the tournament with a goalless draw against France, followed by wins against South Africa (3–0) 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 star 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. Both sides had their chances at extra time but Suárez blocked the ball with his hand in the penalty area, earning Suárez a red card and earning Uruguay universal scorn. 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 semi-finals 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. Forlán was awarded the Player of The Tournament.
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. Luis Suárez ended up as the Player of The Tournament.
Three years later, Uruguay was placed in Group D at the 2014 World Cup alongside Costa Rica, England, and Italy. They were upset by Costa Rica in the opening match, losing 3–1 after taking the lead in the first half. They rebounded with a 2–1 victory over England, in which Suárez scored a brace right after coming back from an injury, 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.[15][16][17] 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).[15][16][18] In the round of 16, Uruguay played Colombia but were beaten 2–0, eliminating them from the tournament.
At the 2015 and 2016 Copa América, Uruguay, missing banned striker Luis Suárez, were eliminated in the quarter-finals and group stages respectively.
After a successful World Cup qualifying campaign, finishing second, Uruguay made it to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Uruguay won its group after three victories, and advanced to the quarter-finals after a 2–1 win over Portugal.[19][20] However, they were eliminated 2–0 in the quarter-finals by the eventual champions France.
At the 2022 World Cup, Uruguay was drawn into Group H with Portugal, Ghana and South Korea. They started the tournament with a 0–0 draw against South Korea, before they fell to a 2–0 defeat to Portugal. Despite a 2–0 victory against Ghana in their final group game, Uruguay was knocked out of the tournament in the group stages for the first time since 2002, on goals scored following South Korea’s shock 2–1 win against Portugal.[21]
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Between 1901 and 1910, Uruguay wore a variety of different shirts during its matches. The first shirt worn was Albion F.C.'s kit, in the unofficial debut of the national team against Argentina in 1901.[22] It was followed by a variety of shirts, including a solid green one and even a shirt with the colours of the flag of Artigas.
On 10 April 1910, now-defunct club River Plate defeated Argentine side Alumni 2–1. That day River Plate wore its alternate jersey, a light blue one due to the home jersey was similar to Alumni's.[23] 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.[24] The light blue (Celeste) jersey debuted in a Copa Lipton match against Argentina on 15 August 1910.[25]
The red shirt that was used in some previous away strips was first used at the 1935 South American championship, held in Santa Beatriz in Peru, which Uruguay won. It was not worn again (except for a 1962 FIFA World Cup match, against Colombia[26]) until 1991, when it was officially adopted as the away jersey.[27]
Uruguay displays four stars in its emblem. This is unique in world football as two of the stars represent the gold medals received at the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics, which are the only editions recognised by FIFA as senior world championships.[28][29][30] In 2021, after a FIFA employee contacted PUMA about modifying the team's crest, FIFA reconfirmed and approved once again the use of all four stars on the shirt.[31]
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.[35] The stadium hosted several matches in the 1930 World Cup, including the final, which was watched by a crowd of 93,000.[36]
First played in 1902, the "Clasico de Rio de la Plata" with Argentina is the oldest international derby in world football outside of the UK. Both teams have played in historically significant matches, such as the two world finals of 1928 and the inaugural World Cup final in 1930. They also disputed 8 South American Championship title deciders between 1916-1967. Although Argentina has an overall better head to head record, Uruguay have a better tally when it comes to international title deciders with 10 wins and 1 loss.
Uruguay vs. Brazil dates back to the 1916 South American Championship. Both teams have since competed in several Copa America title deciders and the iconic 1950 World Cup final match, where Uruguay lifted their second FIFA World Cup in front of a world record crowd in Maracana. The only other time they met in a World Cup was the 1970 World Cup semi-final where Brazil won 3-1 in Guadalajara. Since the 1980s, the two sides met in several title deciders, such as the 1980 World Champions' Gold Cup final (won by Uruguay), and the 1983, 1989, 1995 and 1999 Copa América finals. Uruguay would win the 1983 and 1995 editions, while Brazil won in 1989 and 1999. The 1990s also saw a decisive World Cup qualifier that saw Brazil eliminate Uruguay in Maracana from going to USA 1994. Since the 2000s, they have both mostly met in the Copa América semi-finals, as well as the regularly scheduled World Cup qualifiers.
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Loss Fixture
Juan López (1946–1955, 1957–1959) Juan Carlos Corazzo (1955, 1959–1961, 1962–1964) Hugo Bagnulo (1955–1957) Héctor Castro (1959) Enrique Fernández (1961–1962, 1967–1969) Rafael Milans (1964–1965) Ondino Viera (1965–1967) Juan Hohberg (1969–1970, 1977) Hugo Bagnulo (1970–1973) Roberto Porta (1974) Juan Alberto Schiaffino (1974–1975) José María Rodríguez (1975–1977) Raúl Bentancor (1977–1979) Roque Máspoli (1979–1982, 1997–1998) Omar Borrás (1982–1987) Roberto Fleitas (1987–1988) Óscar Tabárez (1988–1990, 2006–2021)[38] Luis Cubilla (1990–1993) Ildo Maneiro (1993–1994) Héctor Núñez (1994–1996) Juan Ahuntchaín (1996–1997) Víctor Púa (1998–2000, 2001–2003)
Daniel Passarella (2000–2001) Gustavo Ferrín (2003, 2006) Juan Ramón Carrasco (2003–2004) Jorge Fossati (2004–2006) Gustavo Ferrín (2006) Diego Alonso (2021–2023) Marcelo Broli (2023) Marcelo Bielsa (2023–present)The following 24 players are called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Paraguay and Venezuela on 6 and 10 September 2024 respectively.[39][40]
Caps and goals correct as of 10 September 2024, after the match against Venezuela.
The following players have also been called up to the Uruguay squad in the past twelve months.
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Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Tournament played fully or partially on home soil
Below is a list of all matches Uruguay have played against FIFA recognised teams.[44] Updated as of 10 September 2024.
Positive Record Neutral Record Negative Record
Czechoslovakia.
West Germany.
Soviet Union..svg/1280px-Flag_of_Yugoslavia_(1946-1992).svg.png){kind=small}
Yugoslavia and .svg/1280px-Flag_of_Serbia_and_Montenegro_(1992%E2%80%932006).svg.png){kind=small}
Serbia and Montenegro.
Champions (2): 1930, 1950 Gold medal (2): 1924, 1928
Runners-up (1): 1985 Champions (15): 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1956, 1959 (Ecuador),[note 8] 1967, 1983, 1987, 1995, 2011 Runners-up (6): 1919, 1927, 1939, 1941, 1989, 1999
Third place (10): 1921, 1922, 1929, 1937, 1947, 1953, 1957, 1975, 2004, 2024 Third place (1): 1952Friendly
Argentina) Argentina) Argentina) Argentina) Argentina) Argentina) Argentina) Argentina)
Brazil)
Paraguay)
Chile).svg/1280px-Flag_of_Peru_(state).svg.png){kind=small}
Peru) Peru)
England)
Singapore)
Netherlands)
Estonia)
Japan)
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.svg/1280px-Flag_of_Venezuela_(state).svg.png){kind=small}
