Uruguay’s World Cup ended in acrimony and “disgrace” as Marcelo Bielsa took full responsibility for their underwhelming group-stage exit after a 1-0 defeat to Spain.
“What do I leave for Uruguayan football? Nothing,” Bielsa, the Argentinian coach who previously managed Leeds, said. “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. A tenure that left nothing behind.”
Uruguay could have qualified for the knockout stages with a win against Spain, or with a draw, but instead the 1-0 defeat to the European champions summed up their issues at the tournament.
Goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was hauled off at half-time after a costly mistake for Alex Baena’s goal, with Uruguay captain Fede Valverde then removed during the second half. The Real Madrid midfielder was furious to be taken off, ignoring Bielsa as he returned to the bench. Uruguay then lost all composure before full-time, with Agustin Canobbio sent off in stoppage time for a wild lunge on Pau Cubarsi.
Canobbio remonstrated with the officials after receiving a straight red card and raised his hand to referee Ismail Elfath’s chest when the red card was brandished. “They’re out in disgrace,” summed up BBC commentator Jonathan Pierce when Canobbio returned to the pitch after full-time to continue his remonstrations.
A frustrated Bielsa also snapped at a touchline reporter as he waited to give his post-match interview on the sideline, bellowing at them to hurry up.
Uruguay, 19th in the world, are the highest-ranked team to exit the World Cup so far. They were held to draws by Cape Verde, who became the smallest nation in World Cup history to reach the knockout stages, as well as Saudi Arabia.
“I think we deserved to win seven points from the three matches, but we leave with only two points,” Bielsa said. His contract expires after this World Cup.
