The first confirmed champion: Uruguay presented the list of 26 players called up for the 2026 World Cup.

The Uruguay national team has already defined the 26 footballers who will represent their country in the 2026 World Cup. This Sunday, Marcelo Bielsa announced the call-up through a video shared on the social media of the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF), accompanied by the song Cielo de un solo color by the band No Te Va Gustar.

The roster maintains the core of the team that competed in the South American Qualifiers and combines experience with a new generation of footballers who will seek to return Uruguay to prominence in the biggest football event. Among the most notable names are Federico Valverde, Ronald Araujo, José María Giménez, Manuel Ugarte, Rodrigo Bentancur, Giorgian De Arrascaeta, and Darwin Núñez.

One of the major protagonists of the list is Fernando Muslera. The current goalkeeper for Estudiantes de La Plata returned to the national team this year after stepping away in 2024 and will play in his fifth World Cup, a historic milestone that will make him the Uruguayan footballer with the most World Cup appearances.

On the other hand, the main absences include some significant names within the squad. The most notable is Luis Suárez, who will not be part of a World Cup call-up for the first time since Uruguay returned to the World Cups in South Africa 2010. Other well-known players who were left out of the final cut include Nahitán Nández, Lucas Torreira, Miguel Merentiel, Santiago Mouriño, and Martín Satriano.

In the lead-up to the World Cup, the Celeste will not have any preparation friendlies, so they will focus exclusively on their training camp in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, to face Group H, which they share with Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde, and Spain. Their debut will be against the Arabs on June 15 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, then in the same stadium they will face the Africans on the 21st, and will close the group stage against the Spaniards on the 26th at the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara.

The 26 players called up from Uruguay for the 2026 World Cup

Goalkeepers:

• Sergio Rochet (Inter de Porto Alegre)

• Fernando Muslera (Estudiantes de La Plata)

• Santiago Mele (Monterrey)

Defenders:

• Guillermo Varela (Flamengo)

• Ronald Araujo (Barcelona)

• José María Giménez (Atlético de Madrid)

• Santiago Bueno (Wolverhampton)

• Sebastián Cáceres (América de México)

• Mathias Olivera (Napoli)

• Joaquín Piquerez (Palmeiras)

• Matías Viña (River)