URUGUAY FOOTBALL FEDERATION CANCELS CHARTER FLIGHT AFTER GROUP STAGE ELIMINATION

The Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol (AUF) has cancelled the chartered flight scheduled to return Uruguay's players from their base camp in Mexico to Montevideo, according to Uruguayan broadcaster Tenfield. Players will instead arrange their own commercial flights to return home or travel to holidays with their families. The decision follows Uruguay's elimination from the 2026 World Cup after a 1-0 defeat to Spain on Friday.

Uruguay's loss to Spain allowed Cape Verde to advance from the group stage, a result that contradicted pre-tournament expectations heavily favouring Uruguay over Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia. The group stage exit marks the second consecutive World Cup in which Uruguay failed to progress beyond the initial round, having also exited at the same stage in 2022. Manager Marcelo Bielsa, who joined Uruguay in 2023, was observed raising his voice at journalists during a postgame interview following the Spain match.

Bielsa's tenure has been marked by internal disputes, including the retirement of Luis Suárez, Uruguay's all-time leading international goal scorer, after a disagreement with the manager. Uruguay reached the quarterfinals at the 2018 World Cup. The AUF's decision to cancel the charter flight represents a departure from standard post-tournament arrangements for national teams.