Uruguay's World Cup struggles: Where has it gone wrong for Bielsa?

Uruguay face a must-win match against European champions Spain on Friday night to avoid a humiliating early exit from the World Cup. Marcelo Bielsa's side has managed only two draws from their opening two group matches, against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde, leaving them on the brink of elimination in the expanded 48-team tournament.

Bielsa, the former Leeds United manager, sought positives after the draws but acknowledged the gravity of the situation. 'Now we have to play Spain with the necessity and obligation of winning,' he said. He described the match as 'an opportunity for the team to improve the impression they are making against a great opponent.' A defeat would leave Uruguay among the 16 sides eliminated before the knockout stage.

Promising start turns sour

Bielsa took over Uruguay after the 2022 Qatar World Cup, tasked with overseeing a generational change. He inherited a squad well suited to his dynamic, attacking style, and the early results were impressive. Uruguay made a strong start to South America's World Cup qualifiers, winning away to Argentina, beating Brazil, and after six rounds scoring nearly twice as many goals as any other side.

Then came the 2024 Copa America. Uruguay began the tournament with a flurry of goals but soon hit a wall. Things have not been the same since. In November, they were thrashed 5-1 by the United States, coached by Bielsa's former protege Mauricio Pochettino. In March, they snatched a draw against England at Wembley but barely crossed the halfway line—unthinkable for a Bielsa side.

Tactical predictability and player stagnation

Part of the explanation may lie beyond the coach's control. Several key Uruguay players have failed to progress at club level. Federico Valverde, a star at Real Madrid, has yet to make an impact in the tournament. Others, including Rodrigo Bentancur, Manuel Ugarte, Facundo Pellistri, and Darwin Nunez, appear to have stalled or regressed.

Even so, Bielsa is expected—and expects himself—to get more from the resources at his disposal. His high-press, suffocating style was once revolutionary but is now firmly in the mainstream, raising questions about whether his model has become too predictable. Bielsa himself has shown doubts. Uruguay played no warm-up games before the World Cup, opting instead for intensive training ground work that produced a new system—Valverde wide right and two strikers. That system was abandoned at half-time against Saudi Arabia, with a return to his familiar 4-3-3 bringing improvement.

After the break, and again against Cape Verde, Uruguay created chances. Without two moments of self-destruction, they would already be through to the last 32. Yet tactics may not be the root cause.

Strained personal relations

A more convincing explanation lies in personal relations. A month together during the 2024 Copa America appeared to strain the dressing room. Luis Suarez, Uruguay's all-time leading scorer, used his retirement news conference to criticize what he considered Bielsa's lack of warmth, his treatment of players, and the tense atmosphere in camp. Notably, no one in the squad moved to contradict Suarez.

One player, recently recalled winger Agustin Canobbio, had a blazing row with Bielsa, saying the breaking point came when the coach criticized the way he was sitting. After the thrashing by the United States, Bielsa spoke openly about his own difficulties in relating to people, describing himself as a 'toxic perfectionist.'

At 70, Bielsa may be nearing the end of a colorful career at the top level. His work with Uruguay is hardly a convincing advert, and the performance crisis is clear. Yet, for all their struggles, there have been flashes of a level above much of what they produced over the past two years. Friday's match against Spain will determine whether those flashes can become something more.