Alongside Paraguay and Colombia, inaugural World Cup winners Uruguay were one of three South American sides to book their place at the finals in North America next summer.
A 3-0 win at home to already eliminated from qualification Peru was enough for Marcelo Bielsa’s side to secure their place at a fifth consecutive World Cup finals.
As for Bielsa himself, this will be his third time managing at the World Cup, having done so with his native Argentina in 2002, and with Chile in 2010. His Argentina side were knocked out in the groups, whilst Chile made the round of 16.
Despite a very positive start to qualifying, Uruguay had found themselves in a rut, and it was that bright early form that prevented their participation being at risk.
Prior to their victory over Peru last night, Bielsa’s side had won just two of their previous ten qualifiers. They had failed to score in seven of those ten games.
Those defeats included a 1-0 defeat to last night’s visitors Peru, who have been the second worst team in qualifying so far. It’s hard to gauge the reason for this form.
To begin qualifying, they had won four and drawn another in their opening six games, beating Brazil and Argentina – which was the latter’s second defeat in four 1/2 years.
This was then followed by a third place medal at the 2024 Copa America, when things still looked positive. Nevertheless, they have managed to ride the storm and secure their qualification.
As it stands, Uruguay are third in qualifying, with 27 points from 17 games, just one point behind Brazil. It is worth mentioning that they are one place above Ecuador, who received a three point deduction, but they have still, overall, had a fine campaign.
The midfield in particular looked very strong in the win over Peru. Rodrigo Bentancur of Spurs was in the middle pulling the strings, with the physicality of Federico Valverde to his right and the guile of Giorgian De Arrascaeta to his left.
We should mention the latter’s performance in particular. The Flamengo playmaker had nine shots against Peru, scored the second goal, completed 5/5 long balls, 2/2 dribbles, and had 73 touches of the ball – all in 69 minutes.
Having De Arrascaeta on form will be key for Bielsa, although he can’t do it all alone. The midfielder scored Uruguay’s only two goals during the World Cup in Qatar.
It was always going to be difficult to find the source for goals in the post Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani era. Rodrigo Aguirre scored and assisted against Peru, and Brian Rodriguez assisted and looked very bright throughout.
We know from club level that Valverde can contribute with goals from the midfield. His eight goals in 69 international caps could probably be a little bit better for someone with his level of ball striking. He missed a presentable opportunity last night.
So long as Bielsa is in charge, we know Uruguay are going to at least try and be a fun side – even if the recent goal tallies may suggest otherwise. His teams will always provide entertainment in some way or another.
Looking forward to seeing La Celeste next summer.
