Uruguay's national team touched down in Miami, USA, on Sunday, less than 24 hours before their opening Group H match against Saudi Arabia. The flight from Mexico to the US for Marcelo Bielsa's squad was delayed due to administrative issues, which the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) blamed on FIFA.
According to sources, the original flight was not permitted to depart because of missing paperwork. Organizers urgently arranged a replacement flight. The AUF said a second aircraft from South Florida was dispatched to pick up the team while the players waited at a resort outside Cancun.
“Due to issues beyond the AUF's control, the departure from Mexico was delayed,” the AUF announced. “The team is resting at the hotel. The new departure time arranged by FIFA is 16:15 local time.”
FIFA later released a statement saying: “Due to an airline error in Mexico, the Uruguayan team's flight from Cancun to Miami was delayed. The airline has apologized for the inconvenience. FIFA remained in close contact with the Uruguayan team throughout the delay and worked with airport and operational partners to help expedite the process and minimize disruption to the team's schedule.”
Coach Marcelo Bielsa and captain Jose Maria Gimenez missed the mandatory press conference on Sunday evening in South Florida because of the incident. The conference was rescheduled to 20:00 US Eastern Time, and both attended. “The trip went well; we made the most of it and see it positively,” Gimenez said at the press conference. “We rested at the hotel in Cancun.”
When asked about the disruption caused by the flight issue, Bielsa replied: “No, the flight caused no complications,” before shifting the topic to the team's preparation in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Playa del Carmen, Mexico. “In Montevideo, the players have regular obligations, but they also have time for their families, which I consider essential.”
The match between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in Group H will take place at Miami Gardens stadium at 18:00 local time (22:00 GMT), just hours after the team arrived in the US. The other two teams in the group, Spain and Cape Verde, will play their first match in Atlanta on Monday.
Uruguay is the latest team to face travel troubles at this World Cup. Earlier, Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry into the US. Iran's team received US visas only 10 days before their first match in Los Angeles. Iraq striker Aymen Hussein was interrogated for hours at Chicago airport before being allowed in, while the team's photographer was denied entry.
