When does Uruguay play at World Cup 2026?

Uruguay hosted and won the very first World Cup in 1930, and they won it again in 1950 with one of the greatest upsets in football history, beating Brazil in front of nearly 200,000 people at the Maracana. Two-time champions and the smallest country ever to lift the trophy, their footballing heritage is enormous relative to their size. A population of 3.5 million competing with nations 10 or 50 times larger has created a national underdog mentality that fuels everything about Uruguayan football.

The modern World Cup record has been impressive too. They reached the semi-finals in 2010 with a squad led by Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez, and have qualified for every tournament since 2010. But the 2022 exit was painful, eliminated in the group stage despite beating Ghana, going out because South Korea scored a late goal in a parallel match. The manner of the exit, with players in tears on the pitch, showed how much this still means to a proud football nation.

Qualifying was solid. They finished fourth in South American qualifying, beating Argentina and Brazil twice along the way. Those results showed that on their day, this squad can compete with anyone in the world. Coach Marcelo Bielsa is one of football's most fascinating and controversial figures, revered for his tactical innovation but increasingly embroiled in squad management issues. A remarkable 105-minute press conference where he addressed internal problems made global headlines.

Federico Valverde is a world-class box-to-box midfielder at Real Madrid and the engine that drives this team forward. Darwin Nunez provides raw pace and power up front, though his finishing can be inconsistent. The squad has a blend of established names and emerging talents, with the experienced core providing the backbone and younger players adding energy. When everyone pulls in the same direction, Uruguay are devastating.

Group H alongside Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Cape Verde means the focus is on finishing second. The Spain match is a genuine blockbuster between two World Cup winners with contrasting philosophies. Uruguay's physical, direct approach against Spain's possession game could produce one of the tournament's best group-stage encounters. Beating Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde should be straightforward if the team performs to its level.

A quarter-final appearance is the realistic expectation, matching the achievement from 2010. The talent is there, the qualifying results proved the ceiling is high, but the dressing-room dynamics under Bielsa remain a concern. If the coach can keep the squad united and channel the internal tension into on-field intensity, Uruguay could go deep. If the issues boil over, a team that should be competing for the last eight could implode early. That volatility makes them one of the tournament's most compelling storylines to follow.