Outgoing Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa has previously described himself as a “toxic perfectionist”.
Published June 27, 2026
Uruguay national team coach Marcelo Bielsa has taken full responsibility for his team’s exit from the 2026 World Cup, blaming himself for not leaving “anything good” behind Uruguayan football during his tenure with the national team.
The South American team lost to group champion Spain 0-1, ending the tournament without a win. The matches against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde resulted in draws and were eliminated. The World Cup newcomers advanced from Group H in second place against Cape Verde.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Uruguay are ranked 19th in the FIFA rankings, the highest of any team to have been eliminated.
Argentine coach Bielsa, whose contract with the Uruguayan Football Association is valid until the duration of the World Cup, has said in the past that his work with the national team will end after the tournaments in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The 70-year-old, who previously coached Leeds United in the English Premier League, admitted in a press conference in November after the 5-1 defeat to the United States that he was “toxic” and linked this to his desire for perfection.
Amid rumors of pre-tournament rebellion by players, he admitted that he had received “many complaints about my actions.”
Bielsa’s thoughts were in a similar vein after the end of the World Cup campaign.
“What can we leave behind for Uruguayan football?” he said. “Nothing, because no matter what contribution a coach makes to football in a country after working for three years, it will never truly take root unless results are achieved.
“Fourth place in qualifying didn’t mean much, finishing third in the Copa America didn’t mean much either. And obviously there’s no need to elaborate on what just happened.”
“A tenure that left us with nothing.”
The veteran manager took full responsibility for the World Cup campaign and said he could have given his team more given the quality of the players. However, he felt Uruguay should have had better luck considering their performance.
“I think we deserved seven points from three games, but we ended the game with only two points,” he said.
This will be Bielsa’s second time managing a team that failed to make it past the group stage of the World Cup, the first being Argentina’s disastrous failure at the 2002 Japan-Korea tournament. At the 2010 South Africa tournament, he helped Chile advance to the last 16, achieving their best result at the World Cup.
