MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Two-time FIFA World Cup champion Uruguay has opened its latest global tournament with underwhelming results that have put its knockout stage hopes in jeopardy. Following back-to-back draws against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde, Marcelo Bielsa’s side faces a do-or-die group stage clash with Spain, where a failure to secure three points could send them home early.
Watching the team’s opening matches from the stands of Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, just minutes from his current club home at Inter Miami, was Luis Suárez: the striker who carried Uruguay’s attacking threat for more than 15 years and retired from international football in 2024 as the nation’s all-time leading goalscorer, with 69 goals across 143 senior caps. The 39-year-old was forced to watch from the stands as the heavily favored side struggled to turn possession and chances into goals, a problem that has quickly become the talking point of their campaign.
Suárez’s absence from the 2025 World Cup squad was no accident. After months of swirling speculation following the striker’s April announcement that he was willing to come out of international retirement for one last run at the tournament, head coach Marcelo Bielsa opted to leave both Suárez and fellow veteran frontman Edinson Cavani off his roster, choosing instead to place his trust in Uruguay’s emerging generation of attacking talent.
The decision has already come under scrutiny. In their first World Cup opening match without Suárez in the squad since 2010, Uruguay scraped a late 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia, with their only goal coming from midfielder Maxi Araújo. Opening strikers Darwin Núñez and Federico Viñas failed to register a goal between them, cutting underwhelming figures in attack. For their second fixture against Cape Verde, Bielsa adjusted his starting lineup, naming only Viñas as the central striker and adding midfielder Agustín Canobbio to the first XI. Canobbio did score Uruguay’s second goal to pull the side level, but he missed a late second-half chance that would have secured all three points, leaving the team with another draw.
After the Sunday draw with Cape Verde, Bielsa acknowledged his side’s attacking woes in comments to reporters. “I think that the problem or greatest issue is that we started the second half with the ball and with the victory,” the head coach said through a translator. “And it was at that moment that we didn’t close it. We didn’t make any danger.” He added that the squad “lacked a finishing touch” in front of goal — the very quality that Suárez built his legendary international career on providing.
The rift between Bielsa and Suárez goes beyond the squad selection: the pair clashed publicly after the 2024 Copa América, when Suárez publicly criticized Bielsa for creating a negative team environment.
Uruguay fans have been split on the decision to leave the veteran striker at home, reflecting mixed feelings about a generational shift in the national side. “(I have) mixed feelings to be honest,” said Frederico Suárez, a Uruguay supporter attending the matches. “He’s old and now it’s time for the younger players. But he’s a good player, maybe the best player I’ve ever watched with Uruguay.”
Other fans echoed the belief that the move gives young talent room to develop. “I feel like he’s a little older, so for players like Darwin (Núñez), I think it just gives him a little bit more of a chance to shine,” said fan Ian Lancaster.
For many supporters, though, the inconsistent start to the tournament has left expectations uncertain. With one group match remaining against European giant Spain in Guadalajara Stadium on Friday, Bielsa and his young attacking group are under growing pressure to deliver a win and prove the decision to omit Suárez was the right one.
“Our expectations with Uruguay now is that we never know,” said fan Alfonso Aguel. “We need to play every match, go match by match, and see what actually happens.”