Uruguay National Football Team Current Players Squad and Their Historical Achievement-
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| Nickname(s) | Charrúas La Celeste Olímpica (The Olympic Sky Blue) La Celeste (The Sky Blue) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol | ||
| Confederation | CONMEBOL (South America) | ||
| Head coach | Óscar Tabárez | ||
| Captain | Diego Lugano | ||
| Most caps | Rodolfo Rodríguez (79) | ||
| Top scorer | Héctor Scarone (31) | ||
| Home stadium | Estadio Centenario | ||
| FIFA code | URU | ||
| FIFA ranking | 7 | ||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 6 (July 2010) | ||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 54 (December 1998) | ||
| Elo ranking | 10 | ||
| Highest Elo ranking | 1 (various dates 1920–31) | ||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 46 (March 1980) | ||
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| First international | |||
Unofficial:  2–3 Argentina  (Montevideo, Uruguay; 16 May 1901 Official: Uruguay 0–6 Argentina (Montevideo, Uruguay; 20 July 1902) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Uruguay 9–0 Bolivia  (Lima, Peru; 9 November 1927) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| Uruguay 0–6 Argentina (Montevideo, Uruguay; 20 July 1902) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 11 (First in 1930) | ||
| Best result | Winners, 1930 and 1950. | ||
| Copa América | |||
| Appearances | 40 (First in 1916) | ||
| Best result | Winners, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1956, 1959, 1967, 1983, 1987, 1995. | ||
| Confederations Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 (First in 1997) | ||
| Best result | 4th, 1997 | ||
| Olympic medal record | ||
| Men's Football | ||
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1924 Paris | Team |
| Gold | 1928 Amsterdam | Team |
The Uruguay national football team represents Uruguay in international football competition and is controlled by the Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol.
Uruguay is currently number seven in the FIFA world rankings. The team has twice won FIFA World Cups, including the first ever World Cup in 1930 as hosts, beating Argentina 4–2 in the final. They won their second title in 1950, upsetting hosts Brazil 2–1 in the final match. They have won the Gold Medals in football at the Summer Olympics twice, in 1924 and 1928, before the creation of the World Cup. They also won the 1980 Mundialito, a tournament among former World Cup champions (except England, substituted by Netherlands) held in 1980 in Uruguay to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first World Cup. In total they have won 19 official titles (the record shared with Argentina for the most international titles held by a country): 2 FIFA World Cup, 2 Olympic Games, 14 Copa América and 1 Mundialito.
Their success is amplified by the fact that the nation has a very small population of around 3.5 million inhabitants. Uruguay is by far the smallest country in the world to have won a World Cup. (The second smallest country to have won the World Cup is Argentina with a total population of over 40 million people.) Uruguay is also the smallest country ever to win any World Cup medals. In fact, only six nations with their current population smaller than Uruguay's have ever participated in any World Cup: Northern Ireland (3 times), Slovenia (twice), Wales, Kuwait, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Uruguay is also the smallest nation to win Olympic gold medals in any team sport.
Uruguay is the smallest member nation of CONMEBOL, the union of South American football associations. Still, Uruguayan national teams have won the Copa América 14 times, a record it shares with Argentina.
The level of the Uruguay national team decreased in the seventies, as Uruguay has only qualified on four occasions in the last nine World Cups, although it has always remained a strong team in South America, having reached third place and fourth place in the last two Copa América tournaments respectively. However, the present generation of Uruguayan players is widely considered among the very best in their country in the last five decades and helped the National team finish fourth in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
History-
In 1924 the Uruguay team traveled to Paris to become the first South American team to compete in the Olympic Games. In contrast to the physical style of the European teams of the era, Uruguay played a style based around short passes, and won every game, defeating Switzerland 3–0 in the gold medal match. In the 1928 Summer Olympics Uruguay went to Amsterdam to defend their title, again winning the gold medal after defeating Argentina 2–1 in the final.
1930 World Cup-winning Uruguay squad
Following the double Olympic triumph, Uruguay was chosen as the host nation for the first World Cup, held in 1930, the centenary of Uruguay's independence. During the World Cup, Uruguay won all its matches, and converted a 1–2 half-time deficit to a 4–2 victory against Argentina at the Estadio Centenario. Due to the refusal of some European teams to participate in the first World Cup, the Uruguayan Football Association urged other countries to reciprocate by boycotting the 1934 World Cup played in Italy. 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 again won the World Cup in 1950, beating hosts Brazil in one of the biggest upsets in World Cup History. The final was at the Maracanã Stadium in Brazil. Uruguay came from behind to beat the host nation in a match which would become known as the Maracanazo. Many Brazilians had to be treated for shock after the event, such was the surprise of Uruguay's victory.
Since 1950, the national team has had mixed performances in the World Cup, achieving fourth place in 1954, 1970 and 2010, but failing to qualify on several occasions. A new generation headed by Francescoli emerged in the mid-1980s, which qualified for the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, reaching the second round. During the 2000s, the less successful generation of Recoba, Forlán and Montero among others qualified for the 2002 World Cup, but were unable to leave the group stage.
Nevertheless, during the same time period from the 1950s, Uruguay won the Copa America six times, most recently in 1995, when Uruguay also hosted the tournament. Each of the seven occasions when the Copa America has been hosted in Uruguay has resulted in the Uruguayan team winning the tournament.
Stadium-
Since 1930, Uruguay have played their home games at the Estadio Centenario in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo. The stadium was built as a celebration of Uruguay centenary of the first constitution, and had a capacity of 90,000 when first fully opened. The stadium hosted several matches in the 1930 World Cup, including the final, which was watched by a crowd of 93,000. Crowds for Uruguay's home matches vary greatly depending on the importance of the match and the quality of the opposition. World Cup qualifying matches often attract crowds of between 60,000 and 70,000.
Competitive record-
FIFA World Cup:
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Uruguay vs Korea Republic-Uruguay vs the Korea Republic was the first match in the Round of 16. The match was held at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth before a low crowd of 30,597. Uruguay won the match 2–1. Uruguay's two goals came from Luis Suárez, the second of which broke a 1–1 deadlock in the 80th minute. Suárez's first was scored when Diego Forlan made a low cross from the left that was not dealt with by the Korean defence, leaving Suárez to score at the back post. Uruguay subsequently adopted a defensive posture and Korea had more chances to score. Eventually, Lee Chung-Yong equalised in the 68th minute, scoring a headed goal following a free kick. Despite Korea then having chances to win the match, it was Suárez who scored Uruguay's winner in the 80th minute with a curling strike from the edge of the 18-yard box that went in off the inside of the post. Suarez's goal was regarded as one of the tournament's best. Korea missed more good chances in the final minutes of the game, giving Uruguay victory and passage to the Quarter-Finals for the first time since 1970, where they would face Ghana. After the match, the Uruguayan coach Óscar Tabárez attributed his team's successful run to the number of players with experience at top-level overseas clubs. Korean coach Huh Jung-Moo claimed his side "controlled" the match and that Uruguay's goals were "lucky". South American Championship:
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Uruguay vs Netherlands-Uruguay played the Netherlands in the first semi-final on 6 July 2010 at the Cape Town Stadium. The Netherlands won the match 3–2, thereby qualifying for the final for the first time since the 1978 World Cup.Uruguay adopted a defensive posture early in the match, but were only able to hold their opponents scoreless for 18 minutes, when Dutch captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst scored from 35 yards into the top corner of the goal. However, the Netherlands were unable to capitalise on their lead, as Diego Forlán equalised in the 41st minute when his shot from 25 yards was misjudged by goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg. The second half failed to produce many chances for either side, until the Netherlands scored two goals in quick succession to take a 3–1 lead. First, in the 70th minute, Wesley Sneijder scored when his shot ricochetted off a Uruguyan defender and the goalpost. Then, barely three minutes later, Arjen Robben headed in a cross from Dirk Kuyt. The Netherlands suffered a late scare when Maxi Pereira scored in stoppage time; however, the score remained 3–2 despite desperate Uruguayan attempts to equalise. After the match, Uruguay's coach Óscar Tabárez spoke of his pride in his team for reaching the semi-finals. Records:
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Olympics record:
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Current team status-
On 18 November 2009, Uruguay qualified successfully for the 2010 FIFA World Cup after a 2–1 win on aggregate against Costa Rica. By Jun 28, 2010, it reached the quarterfinals and met Ghana. This game is notable for Suarez's last-minute handball, which resulted in him being sent off.
Asamoah Gyan missed the subsequent penalty and Uruguay won 4-2 on penalties. They defeated Ghana but lost in the Semi-Finals to the Netherlands on July 6, 2010.
2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification Standings-
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CONCACAF 4th place v CONMEBOL 5th place-
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Costa Rica  | 1–2 | Uruguay | 0–1 | 1–1 |
2010 FIFA World Cup Group A-
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 7 |
 Mexico | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
 South Africa | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 4 |
 France | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 |
From Wikipedia-
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