Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa has accepted full responsibility for the team's elimination from the World Cup 2026 and blamed himself for leaving 'nothing good' for Uruguayan football during his tenure in charge of the national team.
Uruguay lost 1-0 to Spain in their final group match, exiting the tournament without a single victory. Earlier, the South American side drew with Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde — the latter a first-time World Cup participant that secured a spot in the knockout rounds as runners-up in Group H.
According to the FIFA rankings, Uruguay were the highest-ranked team eliminated so far, sitting at 19th.
Bielsa, the Argentine coach whose contract with the Uruguayan Football Federation runs through the end of the World Cup, had previously stated that his work with the team would conclude after the tournament hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada.
At age 70, the former Leeds United manager admitted during a press conference last November — after a 5-1 defeat to the US — that he is a 'toxic perfectionist.' 'I receive many complaints about my behavior,' he said, amid speculation about a pre-tournament player revolt.
Bielsa's reflection after the World Cup carried a similar tone. 'What did I leave for Uruguayan football? Nothing, because any contribution a coach can make to a country's football after three years of work is never truly valuable if results are not achieved,' he said.
'Fourth place in the qualifiers doesn't mean much, and third place in the Copa America doesn't either. And there is no need to add anything about what happened now. A tenure that left nothing.'
The veteran coach took full responsibility for the World Cup campaign, saying he should have done more with the quality of players available. Still, he believed Uruguay deserved better based on performances. 'I think we deserved seven points from three matches, but we left with only two,' he said.
This marks the second time Bielsa has coached a team that failed to advance past the World Cup group stage, after Argentina's exit at the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. He previously led Chile to the Round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa — his best result at the tournament.
