Suárez defends Uruguayan national team after statements by Andreas and Wendell

Luís Suárez defended Uruguay after statements made by Andreas Pereira. Last Thursday (4), in a press conference, the Fulham player made comparisons between the teams and stated that “If we take each name by name, we have a team that they would dream of having in Uruguay”. The allegations did not please Suárez, who also took a swipe at Andreas, stating that the speech was made by someone who was “Arrascaeta’s reserve in Brazilian football”.

Brazilians speak in motivational video

Wendell also made controversial statements about the selection. “We are the most successful team in the world and we are prepared to face Uruguay or any other opponent. We expect Uruguay to be a very strong opponent, but they will also see the strength of Brazilian football.”said the Brazilian left-back right after the draw with Colombia.

^{Suárez with the Uruguayan national team (Photo: reproduction/Instagram/@luissuarez9)}

Suárez, who was on the bench in the match against Brazil, was bothered by his teammates' statements. “To talk about Uruguay you need to have a little more respect, to know the history that Uruguay has. Before saying that there are players who would like to be in the Brazilian national team… The person who made that comment was Arrascaeta's reserve in Brazilian football, so imagine what it must be like for us to hear that.” declared the Uruguayan player.

The Brazilian players' speeches were used by the Uruguayan national team in a motivational video that features a sequence of the Uruguayan national team, focusing on the 1950 World Cup. At the end of the recording, Ghiggia, who scored the winning goal for Uruguay 74 years ago, appears. The video was published on the official Celeste account.

^{Brazilian players' speeches are used as motivation in a compilation of Uruguayan national team goals (Video: reproduction/Instagram/@aufoficial)}

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On Saturday night (6), at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Brazil was eliminated from the Copa América by Uruguay. The Brazilian team lost 4-2 in a penalty shootout. It had been 29 years since Brazil had a negative performance against the Celeste team in a Copa América. With this, Uruguay returns to its position among the four best in the competition after 13 years.

The semifinals will be between Argentina and Canada and Uruguay and Colombia. Next Tuesday (9), the first clash between the Argentines and Canadians will take place at 9 pm (Brasília time) in New Jersey. The second will take place on Wednesday (10), also at 9 pm (Brasília time), between the Uruguayans and Colombians, in Charlotte.

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Featured photo: on the left, Luis Suárez; on the right, Andreas Pereira (Reproduction/Ethan Miller/Getty Images/Lance!/CBF TV)