Uruguay — 2026 World Cup Squad

Start at the back, because that is where Uruguay always starts. Ronald Araújo and José María Giménez are the kind of centre-backs other nations dread drawing in a knockout round: ruthless in the duel, calm under a high ball, scarred by enough big nights to treat a World Cup last-16 tie as routine. Behind a pair this stubborn, La Celeste rarely beat themselves, and tournaments tend to reward the teams that don't.

The difference-maker, though, lives in midfield. Federico Valverde is doing the job of a player and a half — winning the ball back, carrying it sixty yards, then crashing the box to finish what he started. Around him Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Nicolás de la Cruz supply the craft, threading passes into the channels where Darwin Núñez wants to run. It is muscle and mischief in equal measure.

Everything, as ever, hinges on Núñez. The talent at Al-Hilal has never been the question; the cold-blooded finish has. If he answers it this summer, Uruguay don't just survive their group — they become a team nobody fancies meeting.