Two-time World Cup champions Uruguay have confirmed their 26-man squad for this summer’s tournament in North America.Head coach Marcelo Bielsa has left out the national team’s all-time top goalscorer Luis Suarez, marking the first World Cup without the striker since 2006.Suarez, who has scored 69 goals in 143 games for Uruguay, made his senior international debut in 2007. He has not appeared for the team since September 2024, when he announced his international retirement.The following month, Suarez said he was “hurt” by the culture instilled by Bielsa and said “players are going to reach a limit and explode.”However, earlier this month, the 39-year-old announced that he was again available for selection, saying “I said something I shouldn’t have said” and he “would never say no to the national team if they need me.”
La lista final, los 26 elegidos de Marcelo Bielsa para representar al país en la Copa Mundial 📋 pic.twitter.com/9vc6eilVpo
— Selección Uruguaya (@Uruguay) May 31, 2026Suarez helped the side reach the World Cup semi-finals in 2010. He missed the last-four game through suspension after being sent off for a deliberate handball against Ghana in the quarter-finals.In 2014, he appeared in two group stage games but was again suspended for 2-0 round of 16 defeat against Colombia after being banned for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.In 2018, he started every game as Uruguay reached the quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by eventual champions France. He appeared in every game in 2022 as Uruguay failed to emerge from the group stage.
