Uruguay is one of the smallest nations by population ever to qualify for the World Cup, let alone win the competition.
Nicknamed La Celeste (The Sky Blue), Uruguay played their first-ever game against Argentina in 1901, a 3-2 loss. They played most of their first 15 years against Argentina before the inaugural Copa America, then called the South American Championships, in 1917.
The Uruguayans won the first two Copa America tournaments and took gold at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris and the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. In the latter, they beat Argentina in the final with a 2-1 scoreline.
With just 3.4 million residents, Uruguay is one of the seven smallest nations ever to qualify for a World Cup and they are the smallest to have won one.
Before the World Cup existed, FIFA recognised the Olympic champions as the world champions. As a result of winning Olympic gold in 1924 and again in 1928, Uruguay was selected to host the first-ever World Cup in 1930.
They trailed hosts Brazil 1-0 in the final before Pepe Schiaffino and Alcides Ghiggia scored to give Uruguay a significant upset in front of an estimated crowd of 200,000 fans. The win made Uruguay the first nation ever to win two World Cups.
Uruguay, 1966 World Cup, Hillsborough, Ladislao Mazurkiewicz
La Celeste had four different goal scorers when beating England 4-2 in the quarter-finals, but they lost by the same scoreline against Hungary in the semis. Uruguay took fourth place after a 3-1 defeat to Austria in the bronze final.
After missing out on qualifying in 1958, Uruguay returned to the World Cup in 1962 in Chile. They beat Colombia 2-1 in the opener but lost to Yugoslavia 3-1 and the USSR 2-1, failing to advance past the group stage.
Uruguay, England, May 1990, Jose Herrera, Steve Hodge
Diego Perez, Uruguay, Wayne Rooney England,
Uruguay finished top of the group as Luis Suarez scored in a 1-0 win over Mexico.
Suarez scored twice in a 2-1 Round of 16 win over South Korea, but was sent off late in the quarter-final against Ghana for a controverisal handball on the goal line. Ghana missed the resulting penalty that would have surely won them the game, and Uruguay then went on to be triumphant in the penalty shootout after the game ended 1-1.
Luis Suarez, Uruguay, 2014 World Cup
A short trip to Brazil in 2014 put Uruguay in a tough group with Italy and England. They lost the opener to Costa Rica 3-1, with Edinson Cavani scoring the consolation.
Suarez scored twice in the group games, and Cavani added a goal as well. Cavani then scored twice in a 2-1 upset of Portugal in the Round of 16, but their run ended with a 2-0 loss to France in the quarter-finals.
The Suarez and Cavani era was drawing to a close in Qatar 2022, and it showed as Uruguay failed to get out of the group stages.
Ghana once again missed a penalty in the game.
In May 2023, Bielsa was appointed as Uruguay head coach, succeeding Diego Alonso who left after the nation's World Cup flop.
The 67-year-old, who had been out of football management since leaving Leeds in February 2022, signed a deal running until the 2026 World Cup.
Bielsa served as manager of Argentina from 1998 to 2004 and he also had a four-year stint in charge of Chile, as well as spells with Athletic Bilbao, Marseille and Lille.
He guided Leeds back to the Premier League from the Championship in 2020 and was one of the most popular managers in the club’s history.
His lengthy managerial career has also included spells with Athletic Bilbao, Marseille and Lille.
In October, Bielsa oversaw Uruguay's first victory over Brazil in 22-years across all official competitions and friendly matches. A month late they ended Argentina's ten-year streak over them.
Uruguay impressed at the 2024 Copa America, beating Panama 3-1, Bolivia 5-0 and USA 1-0 in the group stages, before knocking Brazil out on penalties in the quarter-finals.
But they were knocked out of the 2024 Copa America in the semi-finals.
A 39th-minute goal from Jefferson Lerma was the difference between the sides, with Colombia playing a man short after Daniel Munoz was sent off just before the break.
Fans and players clashed in the stands following the semi-final defeat to Colombia.
Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez was among the Uruguay players who went up into the stands at the end of the match in Charlotte in the United States and appeared to become involved in altercations with supporters wearing the yellow shirts of Colombia.
South American football’s governing body, CONMEBOL, said its disciplinary unit had launched an investigation into the “acts of violence that occurred at the end of the match” in a bid to get to the bottom of “the sequence of events and the responsibilities of those involved”.
A skirmish behind the Uruguay bench saw a group of supporters clash with Colombia fans, who made up the vast majority of the crowd, with drinks thrown.
Police restored order after more than 10 minutes with a group of Uruguayan fans and team staff remaining on the field.
Uruguay won the bronze medal at the 2024 Copa America after beating Canada on penalties.
The biggest rivalry for the Uruguayans is against neighbours Argentina. Dating back to 1901, the teams have played nearly 200 times, with Argentina leading the series 92-57 with 48 draws.
The teams have met twice in the World Cup, with each side winning once. They have also played 32 times in the Copa America, but never in a final.
Argentina have 15 wins in the Copa America with Uruguay winning 13 encounters.
Uruguay have played against Brazil 78 times with 20 wins, 20 draws and 38 losses. Uruguay beat Brazil to win the 1950 World Cup, and Brazil topped Uruguay in the semi-finals in 1970 by a 3-1 scoreline.
Uruguay have also played 84 times against Chile with 47 wins and 18 draws. They beat the Chileans in finalsof the Copa America in 1920 and 1987.
The most capped player in the nation's history is centre-back Diego Godin with 161 caps. Luis Suarez (137), Edinson Cavani (136), Fernando Muslera (133) and Maxi Pereira (125) round out the top five.
Suarez leads the nation with 68 goals, while Cavani has 58 and Forlan has 36. All three have also represented Uruguay in the English Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
Muslera holds the record for most World Cup games with 16, one more than Cavani and Godin. All three appeared in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 competitions, with Cavani and Godin also making it to 2022.
Liverpool's Darwin Nunez has been dealt a five-game international ban for fighting with opposition fans after Uruguay's Copa America semi-final against Colombia last month.
Ronald Araujo returned to Barcelona and underwent medical examinations on Monday to assess the severity and status of his hamstring tendon injury.
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo could be out of action for up to four months as the Uruguayan will undergo surgery for a torn hamstring in the coming days.
Following the Copa America 2024 semi-final between Uruguay and Colombia, Uruguayan players, including Ronald Araujo and Darwin Nunez, were involved in a confrontation with Colombia supporters in the stands.
The Uruguay Football Association (AUF) has "strongly condemned" the clash between players and fans after the Copa America semi-final defeat to Colombia.
Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa used his pre-match press conference ahead of the third-place play-off to deliver a damning verdict on CONMEBOL and the USA
Watch as Liverpool and Uruguay forward Darwin Nunez throws punches at violent Colombia supporters to defend his family in Copa America brawl.