28 June,2026 09:11 AM IST | Guadalajara | Agencies
Dejected Uruguay players after their loss to Spain on Friday. Pic/AFP
Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa looked desolate after the two-time champions suffered a shocking group-stage exit at the FIFA World Cup following a 0-1 loss to Spain in a Group âH' clash on Friday.
La Celeste's campaign was one to forget as they failed to win any of their three matches - they drew their previous games against Saudi Arabia (1-1) and World Cup debutants Cape Verde (2-2). On Friday, at the Estadio Guadalajara, it was a calamitous bit of goalkeeping from Fernando Muslera that allowed Alex Baena (42') to score the winner for Spain in the first half. However, Bielsa deflected the blame off the veteran goalkeeper and took it upon himself instead.
Marcelo Bielsa
"What do I leave for Uruguayan football? Nothing. Because any contribution that a coach might make to football in a country after three years of work never truly takes hold if results aren't achieved. Fourth place in the qualifiers didn't count for much, and a third-place finish in the Copa America didn't either. And there is obviously no need to spell it out after what happened now. [It's] a tenure that left nothing behind," said Bielsa, whose voice had a farewell tone to it.
Uruguay (World No.19) is the highest ranked team to be eliminated from the tournament so far. It was the second time Bielsa coached a team that didn't advance past the group stage at the World Cup, following Argentina's debacle in the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. He helped Chile reach the round of 16 at the tournament in South Africa in 2010, which was his best World Cup result.
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