Fernando Muslera, the 40-year-old veteran who came out of international retirement to anchor Uruguay’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign, asked manager Marcelo Bielsa to take him off the pitch at halftime during the team’s final group stage match against Spain. Bielsa obliged, replacing him with Sergio Rochet.
A tournament to forget
The halftime substitution at Estadio Akron on June 27 didn’t happen in a vacuum. It was the culmination of a tournament that had turned progressively more painful for Muslera with each passing match.
During the group stage, Muslera committed three errors that directly led to opposing goals. According to Opta data, that’s the highest number recorded by any goalkeeper in a single World Cup since 1966. The errors came against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia before the Spain match compounded the damage.
Against Spain, a crucial error allowed the opposition to take the lead. Rather than waiting for Bielsa to make the call, Muslera made it himself.
