Uruguay has developed many rivalries through the years, with the most notable ones being with neighboring countries Argentina—known as the Clásico del Río de la Plata based on their geographical location and cultural similarities, and Brazil—known as the Clásico del Río Negro in reference to the 1950 FIFA World Cup final known to football fans as the Maracanazo.

The 1924 Olympic Football tournament also had the distinction of being the first ever "open" championship for professionals, as well as directly being organized by Caetano Heras Manuel Fiochetta and FIFA.

[10] Uruguay would eliminate Yugoslavia, United States, France, Netherlands and finally Switzerland to become football's first senior professional world champions.

In the 1928 Olympic football tournament, Uruguay would retain their world title after beating Netherlands, Germany, Italy and lastly Argentina 2–1 in the replay of the final (the first match was a draw after extra time).

In the final, La Celeste turned a 1–2 halftime deficit into a 4–2 victory against neighbours Argentina at the Estadio Centenario to capture their consecutive third world title.

For the 1938 World Cup, France was chosen as host, contrary to a previous agreement to alternate the championships between South America and Europe, so Uruguay again refused to participate.

In the 1940s, Uruguay achieved early success in a decade largely dominated by Argentina by winning their eighth South American championship in 1942.

This time, La Celeste would enter a final-group where they would tie Spain 2–2 and beat Sweden 3–2 on route to the final match against hosts Brazil.

In the 1954 World Cup, Uruguay reached the semi-final for the fourth time after a notable campaign beating Czechoslovakia, Scotland and England.

Uruguay would finally lose 4–2 in extra-time in what was their first-ever loss at the global stage, a thirty year record that started in January, 1925.

From there, Uruguay maintained a competitive generation through the 1960s and into the early 1970s with players from Nacional and Peñarol, who had won several continental and club world titles during that time.

After that came the biggest downturn in the country's footballing history as they were eliminated in the group stage of the 1974 World Cup, and failed to qualify to Argentina 1978.

It wasn't until the late 1970s that Uruguayan football began to see hope as their under-20 team won four consecutive South American titles from 1975 to 1981, as well as reaching the U20 World Cup semi-final in 1979.

Afterwards, La Celeste went on to win the 1983 and 1987 Copas America back-to-back, only losing 1–0 to hosts Brazil in 1989's decisive title match.

After failing to qualify for the 1982 World Cup, in 1986, Uruguay were eliminated in the Round of 16 against eventual champions Argentina after a group stage that included West Germany, Denmark and Scotland.

The campaign itself proved a frustrating affair, as Uruguay were narrowly eliminated in the last group match against Senegal after drawing them 3–3, after being down 3–0 at half-time.

In 2010, a new generation of footballers, led by Luis Suárez, Diego Forlán and Edinson Cavani, formed a team that finishing fourth in the 2010 World Cup.

Uruguay opened the tournament with a goalless draw against France, followed by wins against South Africa (3–0) and Mexico (1–0) respectively, finishing at the top of their group with seven points.

In the second round, they played South Korea, defeating them 2–1 with star striker Luis Suárez scoring a brace and earning Uruguay a spot in the quarter-finals for the first time since 1970.

During the match against Italy, forward Luis Suárez bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini on his left shoulder.

[17][18][19] Suárez was also banned from taking part in any football-related activity (including entering any stadium) for four months and fined CHF100,000 (approx.

At the 2015 and 2016 Copa América, Uruguay, missing banned striker Luis Suárez, were eliminated in the quarter-finals and group stages respectively.

[25] Ricardo LeBas proposed Uruguay to wear a light blue jersey as a tribute to the victory of River Plate over Alumni.

[27] The red shirt that was used in some previous away strips was first used at the 1935 South American championship, held in Santa Beatriz in Peru, which Uruguay won.

Win Draw Loss Fixture The following 24 players are called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Colombia and Brazil on 15 and 19 November 2024 respectively.