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Torreira is highly critical of Bielsa
The fallout from Uruguay’s early exit from the 2026 World Cup continues to stir controversy in the country after veteran goalkeeper Fernando Muslera announced his retirement from international football as criticism of technical director Marcelo Bielsa intensified over the team’s slump during the tournament.
According to the Spanish newspaper “AS”, Muslera, who was heavily criticized after making several influential mistakes in the group stage, decided to end his international career a few days after “Celeste” said goodbye to the World Cup, so this move opened a new door for discussions about the reasons for the failure.
The tournament saw one of the toughest spells of the veteran goalkeeper’s career as he conceded impressive goals against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde before a miscue on Spain’s Alex Paena led to him being substituted at half-time, becoming one of the most prominent figures the fans were responsible for early exits.
Amidst the criticism, Muslera received a lot of support from his agent, who defended him in an emotional letter in which he said the goalkeeper was “angry with himself for not being able to achieve the dream of the Uruguayan people”, stressing that Muslera would remain a sporting and humanitarian role model for many in his country.
On the other hand, former Atletico Madrid player Lucas Torreira has openly criticized coach Marcelo Bielsa, saying that many of his methods and actions have not been adopted by the national team and that the team arrived at the World Cup in a “critical situation”.
Torreira said Uruguay needed a comprehensive re-evaluation after the World Cup debacle, stressing the need to hire a coach suited to the culture, history and players of Uruguayan football in order to restore the team’s ability to compete in major tournaments.
