The elimination of Uruguay in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup left a scene of tension behind closed doors before the team's return. Now far from the stadiums and with the tournament over for the Celeste, Marcelo Bielsa gathered the squad in Playa del Carmen, in Mexico, to take stock which, as it turned out, ended with a direct message to his players.

The information was disseminated by journalist Sebastián Giovanelli on the ESPN Mundial program. According to the report, the Argentine coach spoke before the group and expressed a feeling of isolation during the process.

“They left me alone,” Bielsa reportedly said in front of the squad, in a phrase directed especially toward the team's leaders.

The conversation, according to the same story, was brief but full of discomfort. Among the players reached by the message would have been Federico Valverde, one of the sports leaders of the team. After the coach's words, none of the footballers present responded.

The scene appeared as the last chapter of a tournament that ended well below expectations for Uruguay.

From initial impulse to project burnout

Bielsa's arrival in May 2023 had sparked enthusiasm around the national team. The Argentine then became the second foreign coach to lead Uruguay after Daniel Passarella and quickly accumulated results that strengthened his position.

During the first stage of its cycle, the team achieved victories against Argentina and Brazil in the South American qualifiers and reached the semifinals of the Copa América 2024, a stage they reached after eliminating Brazil on penalties.

Until that moment, the balance was solid: 10 wins in their first 15 games.

The dynamic changed after the defeat against Colombia in that Copa América. Since then, performance lost stability and Uruguay only managed five victories in its next 17 games.

In the midst of this context, internal questions about the coach's method also grew. The differences with some references had previously come to light after public statements by former forward Luis Suárez.

The World Cup ended up deepening that scenario.

Uruguay shared a group with Spain, Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia, but closed its participation without wins. They drew 1-1 against Saudi Arabia in Miami, drew 2-2 against Cape Verde and lost 1-0 against Spain in Guadalajara.

With only two points, he was even left out of the places reserved for the best third parties.

The performance of goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was also under analysis. The goalkeeper had returned to the national team at Bielsa's request and, according to BBC Sport, he became the first goalkeeper in the history of the tournament to record three errors that ended in a goal during the same World Cup.

After the elimination, the coach himself made a critical evaluation of his stage.

"If you ask me how my cycle in the national team is going to be remembered, it is a period that left little. I leave nothing for Uruguayan football, because any contribution that one can make to a country where he spent three years does not prosper if the results do not occur," he declared at a press conference.

Uruguay completed 36 games under the leadership of Bielsa, with a balance of 16 wins, 12 draws and 8 losses.

Although before the World Cup the Uruguayan Football Association had publicly ratified its support for the coach even in the most complex moments of the process, the early elimination left open a different scenario than expected.

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