Uruguay will bid farewell to one of its all-time greats on Friday when it hosts Paraguay in a World Cup qualifier. Luis Suárez announced his retirement from international soccer this week, saying that Friday's match at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo will be his last with La Celeste.
Click to: Uruguay vs Paraguay Live Anywhere
Click to: Uruguay vs Paraguay Live Anywhere
The 37-year-old will leave as Uruguay's all-time leading scorer, with 69 goals in 142 games across 17 years with the national team.
Uruguay are set to take on Paraguay at the Estadio Centenario on Saturday for matchday seven of their South American World Cup qualifying campaign. The hosts currently sit second in the table with 13 points, while the visitors are in seventh place, level on five points with eighth-placed Chile.
Following the extreme disappointment of crashing out in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, something they had not done since 2002, Uruguay dismissed manager Diego Alonso and eventually hired Marcelo Bielsa in May 2023.
Bielsa has had a fantastic impact on the Uruguayan national team, losing five of his 19 matches in charge across all competitions and guiding the side to a third-placed finish at the 2024 Copa America.
Uruguay confidently won all three of their group-stage matches and remarkably defeated Brazil on penalties in the quarterfinals, but despite having 62% possession in the semifinals, they were unable to capitalise and lost 1-0 to Colombia.
They narrowly beat Canada on penalties in the third-place playoff match after Luis Suarez scored a 92nd-minute equaliser to force a penalty shootout, which Uruguay won 4-2.
Heading into matchdays seven and eight of their South American FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Bielsa's side sit in a solid second place having taken 13 points from six fixtures, and they will be looking to solidify their position with two positive results in this international break.
Their opponents, Paraguay, are likely to be low on confidence heading into Saturday's game after suffering an awful Copa America, crashing out in the group stage for the first time since 2016.
They were defeated 2-1 by Colombia, 4-1 by Brazil and 2-1 by Costa Rica to leave them bottom of the group without taking any points, resulting in manager Daniel Oscar Garnero being sacked.
Gustavo Alfaro has taken charge of the side and will be leading Paraguay into his first game as manager when they face Uruguay on Saturday, and the Argentinian will be hoping he can lead Paraguay to their first victory in this fixture since 2007.
Click to: Uruguay vs Paraguay Live Anywhere
Click to: Uruguay vs Paraguay Live Anywhere
The 37-year-old will leave as Uruguay's all-time leading scorer, with 69 goals in 142 games across 17 years with the national team.
Uruguay are set to take on Paraguay at the Estadio Centenario on Saturday for matchday seven of their South American World Cup qualifying campaign. The hosts currently sit second in the table with 13 points, while the visitors are in seventh place, level on five points with eighth-placed Chile.
Following the extreme disappointment of crashing out in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, something they had not done since 2002, Uruguay dismissed manager Diego Alonso and eventually hired Marcelo Bielsa in May 2023.
Bielsa has had a fantastic impact on the Uruguayan national team, losing five of his 19 matches in charge across all competitions and guiding the side to a third-placed finish at the 2024 Copa America.
Uruguay confidently won all three of their group-stage matches and remarkably defeated Brazil on penalties in the quarterfinals, but despite having 62% possession in the semifinals, they were unable to capitalise and lost 1-0 to Colombia.
They narrowly beat Canada on penalties in the third-place playoff match after Luis Suarez scored a 92nd-minute equaliser to force a penalty shootout, which Uruguay won 4-2.
Heading into matchdays seven and eight of their South American FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Bielsa's side sit in a solid second place having taken 13 points from six fixtures, and they will be looking to solidify their position with two positive results in this international break.
Their opponents, Paraguay, are likely to be low on confidence heading into Saturday's game after suffering an awful Copa America, crashing out in the group stage for the first time since 2016.
They were defeated 2-1 by Colombia, 4-1 by Brazil and 2-1 by Costa Rica to leave them bottom of the group without taking any points, resulting in manager Daniel Oscar Garnero being sacked.
Gustavo Alfaro has taken charge of the side and will be leading Paraguay into his first game as manager when they face Uruguay on Saturday, and the Argentinian will be hoping he can lead Paraguay to their first victory in this fixture since 2007.
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