The Uruguay Copa America 2024 squad will be announced in the coming weeks, as Marcelo Bielsa and his team prepare for the tournament in the United States.
Under Bielsa, Uruguay's squad has been given a brand new lease of life, with young players being brought into the fray to replace the older members who have proved so valuable in previous years. Gone are the days when Uruguay relied on Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani and Diego Forlan, with the squad a lot more balanced nowadays.
They do have a brilliant midfield, though, with Rodrigo Bentacur of Tottenham and PSG's Manuel Ugarte both supplementing the effervescent Federico Valverde. Plus, Darwin Nunez leads the line up front in what could prove an effective yet chaotic combination at Copa America.
Drawn into a group containing USA, Panama and Bolivia, Uruguay will hope they have enough to reach the knockout stages - and from there, who knows? They've beaten Argentina and Brazil in recent months, highlighting their credentials on the big stage.
Uruguay's squad
Uruguay Copa America 2024 squad: The latest team for March's fixtures
GK: Randall Rodríguez (Peñarol)
GK: Franco Israel (Sporting CP)
GK: Santiago Mele (Atlético Junior)
DF: Nicolás Marichal (Dynamo Moscow)
DF: Sebastián Cáceres (América)
DF: Mathías Olivera (Napoli)
DF: Matías Viña (Flamengo)
DF: Lucas Olaza (Krasnodar)
MF: Nicolás Fonseca (River Plate)
MF: Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur)
MF: Nicolás de la Cruz (Flamengo)
MF: Nahitan Nández (Cagliari)
MF: Giorgian de Arrascaeta (Flamengo)
MF: Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)
MF: Manuel Ugarte (Paris Saint-Germain)
FW: Federico Viñas (León)
FW: Facundo Pellistri (Granada)
FW: Agustín Canobbio (Athletico Paranaense)
FW: Brian Rodríguez (América)
FW: Luciano Rodríguez (Liverpool Montevideo)
FW: Ignacio Laquintana (Red Bull Bragantino)
Uruguay's squad which played against the Basque Country and Ivory Coast in two friendlies in March.
Uruguay fixtures and results
September 8, Uruguay 3–1 Chile, Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay September 12, Ecuador 2–1 Uruguay, Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador
October 12, Colombia 2–2 Uruguay, Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia October 17, Uruguay 2–0 Brazil, Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay
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November 16, Argentina 0–2 Uruguay, La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, Argentina November 21, Uruguay 3–0 Bolivia, Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay
March 23, Basque Country 1–1 Uruguay, Estadio San Mamés, Bilbao, Spain March 26, Ivory Coast 2–1 Uruguay, Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France
Uruguay Copa America 2024 squad numbers
The Uruguay Copa America 2024 squad numbers will be announced at the same time that the squad is revealed.
After being sacked by Leeds United in February 2022, Bielsa took over a year out of football to recharge. In May 2023, he finally agreed to a return to football, with Uruguay, and conducted a mass overhaul of the team, calling up 14 uncapped players in his first squad.
Results have gone well ever since, with victories over Argentina, Brazil and Chile in World Cup 2026 qualifying slightly marred by the loss to Ecuador and draw with Colombia. Regardless, Bielsa has got the team playing some intense football, as they currently sit second in CONMEBOL qualifying.
Uruguay's star player
Federico Valverde
Federico Valverde of Uruguay (Image credit: Getty Images)
Valverde is the epitome of a Marcelo Bielsa player, with his workrate and high-pressing attitudes extremely conducive to the Argentine's methods. But that's not to say the midfielder doesn't have plenty of quality on the ball, either, proven during his successful time at Real Madrid.
If Uruguay are to perform well in the United States, then Valverde will need to be an integral member of the team. While there's other talented players around him, the 25-year-old is head and shoulders above the rest.
FAQs
How many players are Uruguay allowed to take to Copa America 2024?
Following a couple of tournaments where teams were allowed to select 26 players in their squads, Copa America 2024 will revert to 23-man squads.
Brought in as a special measure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, those larger squads have now been scrapped by CONMEBOL and CONCACAF for this summer's tournament.
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Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
