Uruguay

Uruguay’s rise to prominence on the global stage

The first official match played by Uruguay was held at the Paso del Molino on July 20th, 1902 against Argentina. In that match, Argentina beat the Uruguayan side 6–0 in front of 8,000 spectators. 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.

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 FIFA. Hence, the tournament would be recognize at the time (and posteriorly) as equivalent in value to the FIFA World Cup. 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 overturned a 1–2 halftime deficit to 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).

1940s–1960s

In the 1940s, Uruguay achieved early success in a decade largely dominated by Argentina by winning their 8th 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 July 16, 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. 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 vs. 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 half time. 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 1924.

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 top 8 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.

1970s–1980s

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 U20 team won four consecutive South American titles from 1975-1981, 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 Copa Americas back-to-back, only losing 1-0 to hosts Brazil in 1989's decisive title match. Conversely, there is the bittersweet sensation that this generation unreformed this decade when it came to the World Cup. Firstly, Uruguay failed to qualify for Spain 1982, and in Mexico 1986, Uruguay were eliminated in the Round of 16 against eventual champions Argentina after an underwhelming group stage that included West Germany, Denmark and Wales.

1990s–2000s

In Italy 1990, Uruguay were eliminated in the Round of 16 vs. hosts Italy 2-0 in Rome. Afterwards, Uruguay would fail to qualify for USA 1994 after losing 2-0 to Brazil in decisive match at Maracana 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 Montevide. Later, Uruguay were eliminated from the 1998 World Cup as they finished in 7th place 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 Korea and Japan. 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, despite being down 3-0 at half-time. The comeback was nearly completed, but Uruguay missed a clear chance at the end of the match.

The 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign brought even more ups and downs as Uruguay finished in the position for 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, an event that greatly impacted Uruguayan football's trajectory.

2010s–present

In 2010, however, a new generation of footballers, led by Luis Suárez, Diego Forlán and Edinson Cavani, formed a team considered to be Uruguay's best in the last four decades, catching international attention after finishing fourth in the 2010 World Cup. Uruguay opened the tournament with a goalless draw against France, followed by defeats of South Africa (3–0) in 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. Diego Forlan 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. In the 2014 World Cup Uruguay was placed in Group D alongside Costa Rica, England, and Italy. They were upset by Costa Rica in the opening match, losing 3–1 despite 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. 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). 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. However, they were eliminated 2–0 in the quarter-finals by the eventual champions France.

At the 2022 FIFA 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. Although despite a 0–2 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.

In 2023 Uruguay had arguably one of the best years in football ever, beating both Brazil and Argentina back to back for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.