Bielsa takes blame as Uruguay exit World Cup without a win
Uruguay’s 1-0 loss to Spain ended a winless World Cup campaign, with Marcelo Bielsa saying his tenure left “nothing” for the country’s football.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Uruguay were knocked out of the 2026 World Cup after a 1-0 defeat to Spain, ending a campaign in which the South American side failed to win a match. Marcelo Bielsa accepted responsibility for the exit and said poor results meant his work had left “nothing” lasting for Uruguayan football.
Al Jazeera, citing The Associated Press, reported that Uruguay finished their group campaign with two points after draws against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde before the loss to group winners Spain. Cape Verde, appearing at a World Cup for the first time, advanced from Group H in second place.
Uruguay entered the tournament ranked 19th by FIFA. According to Al Jazeera and AP, they are the highest-ranked team eliminated from the competition so far.
Bielsa’s contract with the Uruguayan Football Association ran through the World Cup, and the Argentine coach had previously said his time in charge would end after the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The 70-year-old had taken over with a reputation built across international football and club roles, including a spell at Leeds United in the English Premier League.
After Uruguay’s elimination, Bielsa questioned what his spell had delivered. “What do I leave for Uruguayan football?” he said, according to Al Jazeera and AP. “Nothing, because any contribution that a coach might make to football in a country after three years of work never truly takes hold if results aren’t achieved.”
He pointed to results that had seemed more positive before the World Cup but said they no longer carried much weight. Bielsa said Uruguay’s fourth-place finish in qualifying and third-place finish at the Copa America did not count for much after the tournament exit, describing his period in charge as “a tenure that left nothing behind.”
Bielsa also said the responsibility for the World Cup failure was his. He said Uruguay had enough quality in the squad for him to have drawn more from the team, though he argued the performances merited a better return than two points.
“I think we deserved to win seven points from the three matches, but we leave with only two points,” Bielsa said, according to Al Jazeera and AP.
The comments followed earlier scrutiny of Bielsa’s methods. Al Jazeera reported that, during a media conference in November after a 5-1 defeat by the United States, Bielsa described himself as “toxic” and linked that to his pursuit of perfection. He also acknowledged receiving complaints about his conduct amid reports of player unrest before the tournament.
The 2026 elimination marked the second time a Bielsa-coached team failed to get beyond the World Cup group stage. AP reported that his Argentina side exited early in 2002 in South Korea and Japan, while his best World Cup run came with Chile, who reached the last 16 in South Africa in 2010.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.