Without the presence of De la Cruz and Arrascaeta, Bielsa announces his squad

The Uruguayan Football Federation (AUF) released this Tuesday (12) the list of 24 players called up for the clashes against Colombia and Brazil, valid for the World Cup qualifiers. The main absences from the squad are midfielders Nicolás de la Cruz and Giorgian De Arrascaeta.

Both face physical problems: Arrascaeta, after winning the Copa do Brasil, announced in an interview last Sunday that he will undergo surgery and should only return to the pitch in 2025. Nicolás is recovering from an injury to his right thigh. Despite these absences, right-back Guillermo Varela was remembered in the squad, representing Flamengo.

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_{Uruguay against the Paraguay team (Photo: reproduction/Esnesto Ryan/GettyImagesSport)}

Players remembered

In addition to Guillermo Varela, who plays for Flamengo, three other players who defend Brazilian teams were called up: Rochet (Internacional), Puma Rodríguez (Vasco) and Luciano Rodríguez (Bahia).

A significant return is that of midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham), who served a four-game suspension following the confusion that occurred in the game against Colombia in the 2024 Copa América. Now, he is back and will be able to reinforce the team Uruguay in the next matches.

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_{Uruguayans posing with the Brazilian Cup trophy (Photo: reproduction/EurasiaSportImages/GettyImagesSport)}

Instability

Currently, the Uruguayan team occupies third place in the Qualifiers, with 16 points. Despite being well placed, Marcelo Bielsa's work has been the target of criticism, mainly due to his relationship with the players and the team environment. Many athletes have complained about their attitudes towards staff and fans.

A clear example of this comes from Luís Suárez, the team's top scorer in history, who fired a shot at the coach in an interview. According to Suárez, “Many players held a meeting to ask the coach to at least say 'good morning' to us. He didn't even greet us“, said the attacker to DSports.

Known as “El Loco Bielsa” since the beginning of his career, the Argentine coach has always had an explosive temper as his trademark. One notorious episode was when he threatened fans who came to his home, saying he would attack them with a grenade.

Featured Photo: Arrascaeta alongside De la Cruz (reproduction/Marcelo Cortes/CRF)