Bielsa leaves Cavani and Suarez out of Uruguay squad for World Cup qualifying matches

Uruguay national soccer team coach Marcelo Bielsa during a press conference in Montevideo, Uruguay, Saturda. Uruguay will face Chile in a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Friday. (AP)
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Updated 05 September 2023
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Bielsa leaves Cavani and Suarez out of Uruguay squad for World Cup qualifying matches

  • Bielsa took the Uruguay job in May with the aim of rejuvenating the squad
  • 30-year-old goalkeeper Sergio Rochet is the oldest player picked for the games against Chile in Montevideo on Friday and at Ecuador on Sept. 12

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay: Uruguay’s new coach Marcelo Bielsa left veteran strikers Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez out of his squad Monday for the first two rounds of South American World Cup qualifying.

Bielsa took the Uruguay job in May with the aim of rejuvenating the squad, and 30-year-old goalkeeper Sergio Rochet is the oldest player picked for the games against Chile in Montevideo on Friday and at Ecuador on Sept. 12.

Cavani and Suarez are both 36 and are playing for South American clubs now. Cavani is at Boca Juniors in Argentina and Suarez plays for Gremio in Brazil.

Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez is expected to lead Uruguay’s attack.

Bielsa also included two strikers playing in the MLS — Orlando City’s Facundo Torres and Los Angeles FC’s Cristian Olivera.

URUGUAY SQUAD:

Goalkeepers: Sergio Rochet (Internacional), Franco Israel (Sporting Lisbon) and Santiago Mele (Junior Barranquilla)

Defenders: Santiago Bueno (Girona), Bruno Mendez (Corinthians), Sebastian Cacares (América de Mexico), Puma Rodríguez (Vasco da Gama), Mathías Olivera (Napoli), Joaquin Piquerez (Palmeiras), Matías Viña (Sassuolo), and Lucas Olaza (Krasnodar).

Midfielders: Federico Valverde (Real Madrid), Nahitan Nández (Cagliari), Felipe Carballo (Gremio), Emiliano Martínez (Midtjylland), Manuel Ugarte (Paris Saint-Germain), and Nicolás de la Cruz (River Plate).

Forwards: Agustin Canobbio (Athletico Paranaense), Maximiliano Araujo (Toluca), Facundo Torres (Orlando City), Brian Rodríguez (América de Mexico), Facundo Pellistri (Manchester United), Cristian Olivera (Los Angeles FC), Maxi Gómez (Cadiz), and Darwin Nunez (Liverpool).


Real Madrid edge Valencia to stay on Barca’s tail, Atletico slump

Updated 09 February 2026
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Real Madrid edge Valencia to stay on Barca’s tail, Atletico slump

  • After Spanish champions Barca had beaten Mallorca on Saturday, Alvaro Arbeloa’s Madrid eked out a tight victory at Mestalla to keep the pressure on their arch-rivals

BARCELONA: Kylian Mbappe scored his 23rd goal of the season in La Liga to help Real Madrid claim a battling 2-0 win at Valencia on Sunday and close the gap to leaders Barcelona to one point.
Third-place Atletico Madrid slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Real Betis, three days after thrashing the Andalusian side in the Copa del Rey, falling further away from the top two.
After Spanish champions Barca had beaten Mallorca on Saturday, Alvaro Arbeloa’s Madrid eked out a tight victory at Mestalla to keep the pressure on their arch-rivals.
Missing suspended forward Vinicius Junior and injured midfielder Jude Bellingham, Los Blancos lacked sparkle but did enough to claim three points on Spain’s east coast.
Alvaro Carreras put the visitors ahead midway through the second half and Mbappe struck late on to seal their win.
“It was going to be a game where we had to have a lot of patience. I think it was a win that came because of how solid we were, and our focussed performance,” said Arbeloa.
“I think that we were fair winners.”
England international Trent Alexander-Arnold made his return after injury as a substitute in the second half of Madrid’s victory.
Arda Guler and Mbappe had chances in the first half, while Madrid right-back David Jimenez, from the club’s youth academy, came closest to scoring but was denied by goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.
Midway through the second half, Carreras conjured a goal out of nothing to give Madrid the lead.
Coming in from the left, the defender used his weaker right foot to stroke the ball inside Dimitrievski’s near post.
Valencia might have levelled but Lucas Beltran’s effort on the stretch clipped the post.
Madrid eventually secured the three points in stoppage time as Brahim Diaz teed up La Liga’s top scorer Mbappe to finish from close range.
“Right now he’s the best player in the world, for what he’s showing day after day and game after game,” said Arbeloa, who reiterated that Mbappe could live up to his boyhood idol Cristiano Ronaldo’s legacy at Real Madrid.
“As I’ve said before, it seemed like Cristiano was something alien, impossible to equal, and that nobody would get close, but Kylian is on a good path... it’s not easy, obviously, but if anyone can, it’s Kylian.”
Valencia’s fans, some of whom had waved white handkerchieves during the match in protest at the club’s situation, headed for the exits with Los Che 17th, one point above the drop zone.
“It’s normal that (the fans) are nervous, I would be too,” admitted Valencia captain Jose Gaya to DAZN.

Revenge mission

Antony’s first-half strike helped Betis win at Atletico, earning his side revenge for their cup mauling, and leaving Atletico 13 points behind leaders Barcelona.
Betis, fifth, continued their push toward the top four, now trailing fourth-placed Villarreal by four points, although they have played two more matches than the Yellow Submarine.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico waltzed into the Copa del Rey semifinals with a hefty 5-0 win at Betis on Thursday, but this was a far closer affair at Atletico’s Metropolitano stadium.
“It’s a tough defeat to take after the great game we had in the cup. We weren’t as good as the other day,” admitted Atletico captain Koke to Movistar.
“They set up a lot tighter at the back... We had very few chances and they played a great game.”
Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini made five changes to the team which crumbled at home and his side were determined to prove a point in the Spanish capital.
“I’m very happy for the goal and even more so for the victory — it’s been a very difficult week,” said Antony, who curled home after 28 minutes, beating Jan Oblak at his near post.
“We had to change, there was no other option... we’re sorry (to the fans) for the game in the cup.”
Atletico had the ball in Betis’s net with 15 minutes to go when Diego Llorente headed Giuliano Simeone’s cross into his own net, but Antoine Griezmann was judged to be fractionally offside and interfering with play.
Elsewhere, Athletic Bilbao beat Levante 4-2, Sevilla and Girona shared a 1-1 draw, and Getafe won 2-0 at Alaves.