Bielsa is ready to take full responsibility for the two-time World Cup winners' exit at the group stage. Uruguay lost 1-0 to Spain on Friday.
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Coach Marcelo Bielsa believes Uruguay should have collected more points from their three matches at the 2026 World Cup, but in the end, none of that happened. The two-time World Cup winner was eliminated in the group stage this time.
Bielsa is ready to accept all the blame. Uruguay lost the match against Spain 1-0 on Friday. Goalkeeper Fernando Muslera's mistake was largely responsible for that. Before that, Uruguay had to settle for disappointing draws against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia.
'We should have collected seven points, but we were limited to two,' Bielsa said. 'We did not play according to our intention. We did not make the chances we created decisive.'
He added, 'All the journalists and fans of Uruguay are blaming me. I accept that I take responsibility for the team's poor performance and I accept that fact.'
Goalkeeper Muslera was responsible for both of Cape Verde's goals. Bielsa also decided to 'substitute' the 40-year-old against Spain. He also decided to take off Real Madrid's Federico Valverde with the game approaching an hour. This was also controversial. Bielsa had this to say about it: 'Muslera himself announced his decision to stay out at half-time. The decision to take Valverde off and bring on Federico Vinasala was mine, I thought it would sharpen our attack.'
Bielsa's decision to continue to trust Muslera ultimately proved wrong, but he attributed it to his performance at the 2010 World Cup, where Uruguay reached the semi-finals. 'I accept that Muslera's performance was poor, but he has played very well this season and he has a strong personality,' said Argentine coach Bielsa.
Retired goalkeeper Musarella, 40, returned to the Uruguayan team at Bielsa's request. Finally, Bielsa expressed his disappointment over the last three years as Uruguay's coach. The 70-year-old coach concluded, "I don't need to say much about my tenure. I haven't done anything memorable in my time."
"I haven't achieved anything as Uruguay's coach," he admitted. It is believed that his playing career as a coach has probably come to an end with this World Cup. However, Uruguay's performance has improved overall since he came. He took charge of the Uruguayan team after the Qatar World Cup. In the meantime, the team had also gone through a generational transition.
