Uruguay Football History :
The Uruguayan national football team nicknamed as La Celeste (The Sky Blue One) is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body responsible for soccer in the country. The team represents the country in international football competitions. Its participation in the World Football Cup started in the year 1930 and since then it has appeared 11 times in the tournament.
In the Confederations Cup, the team played only twice in 1997 and 2013. In the South American Championship, it first took part in 1916 and played successfully till 1967. In regional tournaments like Copa America, participation started in 1975 and it qualified for all 14 championships up until now. In the Pan American Games, the team started contesting from 1963 and is still playing fantastic overall football. Estadio Centenario is the home ground of the mighty Uruguayan national football team and is situated in the Parque Batlle near Montevideo, Uruguay. The team holds the record of being never beaten at their home ground by any European team and even the champion side of Brazil was able to beat them only thrice in 20 encounters.
Presently the team stands at 6th position in World Football Rankings and the highest rank it achieved was 2nd in June 2012. As per World Football Elo Ratings, it is currently placed at the 9th spot while it earned the top spot several times during 1920 – 1930. The national football team of Uruguay has been participating in the Summer Olympics since 1924. The team fetched a gold medal twice in a row in 1924 and 1928 respectively. The Uruguayan national football team has been part of several minor tournaments and earned immense achievements in these tournaments.
Uruguay’s Success Story :
Uruguay is one of the strongest football teams in the world and the winner of the World Football Cup title two times, in 1930 and 1950. The success story continues in the South American Championship where it has won 11 titles out of 27 competed, and finished runners-up four times. This championship is considered as the most successful in its career so far. In the Copa America tournament, it became champions four times and finished runners-up twice. In the Pan American Games, the team won the title in 1983. The team with its strong vision and impeccable performance has qualified for the upcoming World Football Cup in Brazil.
Uruguay squad |
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| Goalkeepers: | Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray/Turkey) Martin Silva (Vasco Da Gama/Brazil) Rodrigo Munoz (Libertad/Paraguay) |
Defenders: | Diego Lugano (West Bromwich Albion/England) Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid/Spain) Jose Maria Gimenez (Atletico Madrid/Spain) Martin Caceres (Juventus/Italy) Maximiliano Pereira (Benfica/Portugal) Jorge Fucile (Porto/Portugal) Sebastian Coates (Nacional) |
| Midfielders: | Egidio Arevalo Rios (Morelia/Mexico) Walter Gargano (Parma/Italy) Diego Perez (Bologna/Italy) Sebastian Eguren (Palmeiras/Brazil) Alvaro Gonzalez (Lazio/Italy) Alejandro Silva (Lanus/Argentina) Alvaro Pereira (San Pablo/Brazil) Cristian Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid/Spain) Gaston Ramirez (Southampton/England) Nicolas Lodeiro (Botafogo/Brazil) |
Forwards: | Luis Suarez (Liverpool/England) Edinson Cavani (PSG/France) Diego Forlan (Cerezo Osaka/Japan) Cristian Stuani (Espanyol/Spain) Abel Hernandez (Palermo/Italy) David Villa |
Uruguay’s Performance in all World Football Cups :
| World Football Cup Year | World Football Cup Hosting Nation | World Football Cup Qualification | Quarter Final Birth | Semi Final Birth | Third Place Secured | Reached Final | Title Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | South Africa | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | – |
| 2006 | Germany | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2002 | South Korea | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1998 | France | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1994 | United States | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1990 | Italy | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1986 | Mexico | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1982 | Spain | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1978 | Argentina | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1974 | West Germany | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1970 | Mexico | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | – | – |
| 1966 | England | Yes | Yes | No | – | – | – |
| 1962 | Chile | Yes | No | – | – | – | – |
| 1958 | Sweden | No | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1954 | Switzerland | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | – |
| 1950 | Brazil | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Won |
| 1938 | France | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1934 | Italy | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1930 | Uruguay | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Won |
| Total | 19 World Football Cups | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
