Experience is very much the name of the game on Uruguay’s World Cup squad. Coach Diego Alonso has named six players aged 35 and over for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The squad includes both the most capped player and Uruguay’s top scorer. The first is Diego GodÃn with 159 games. The nation’s top scorer is LuÃs Suárez with 68 goals.
Combined, Suárez and Edinson Cavani have 267 appearances and 126 goals. Each scored at least once from three World Cups through 2010. The pair join GodÃn, MartÃn Cáceres and Fernando Muslera as players in the 2022 squad to also play in 2010. That team 12 years ago reached the semi-finals of the competition. Additionally, these five players were part of the 2011 Copa América team that won that title.
Clearly these guys know how to win football games.
Fresh off an embarrassing 1-0 loss to Iran in a friendly match last September, head coach Diego Alonso will be under no illusions about the scale of his task ahead. This is only the third time since 1974 that Uruguay has not had a coach named Oscar Tabárez entering a World Cup.
Diego Alonso, the new boy
A disastrous start to World Cup qualification culminated in Tabárez being sacked. Diego Alonso arrived in his place. Alonso arrived after a spell in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami. He quickly stabilized the boat and led La Celeste to four straight wins. In particular, he has come to rely on a new generation of stars.
The backbone of Uruguay is possibly one of the strongest. Center backs José Giménez and Ronald Araújo, midfielders Federico Valverde, Rodrigo Bentacour and Lucas Torreira and forwards Darwin Núñez and Maxi Gómez, all aged between 23 and 27 and in their prime.
This team has experience on their side. However, it is not a retirement home. This Uruguay by Diego Alonso with a little taste of Oscar Tabárez. As a player, Alonso himself never made it to a World Cup team; this is your chance to redeem yourself.
The Uruguay team for the World Cup
Uruguay’s 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup:
Goalkeepers: Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray), Sergio Rochet (National), Sebastian Sosa (Independent).
Defenders: Jose Luis Rodriguez (National), Mathias Olivera (Napoli), Matias Vina (Roma), Jose Maria Gimenez (Atlético Madrid), Sebastian Coates (Sporting CP), Diego Godin (Velez Sarsfield), Guillermo Varela (Flamengo), Martin Hunts (LA Galaxy), Ronald Araujo (Barcelona).
Midfielders: Matias Vecino (Lazio), Federico Valverde (Real Madrid), Nicolas De La Cruz (River Plate), Facundo Pellistri (Manchester United), Lucas Torreira (Galatasaray), Manuel Ugarte (Sporting CP), Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur) .
Forwards: Luis Suárez (Nacional), Edinson Cavani (Valencia), Darwin Núñez (Liverpool), AgustÃn Canobbio (Athletico Paranaense), Maxi Gomez (Trabzonspor), Facundo Torres (Orlando City), Giorgian De Arrascaeta (Flamengo).
PHOTO: IMAGO / GEPA Images
World Cup 2022 Guide
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