Uruguay at the FIFA World Cup
This is a record of Uruguay's results at the FIFA World Cup.
Uruguay have won four FIFA-organized World Football Championships. They won the first World Championship organized by FIFA under the Olympic Committee umbrella with true representation from all continents; before then, football in the Olympics comprised only European teams). Uruguay then won the next two World Championships (Jules Rimet Trophy) in which they participated; these tournaments, the 1930 and 1950 FIFA World Cups, were fully independent from the Olympics and employed clear rules distinguishing professional and amateur football players. Since 1924 marked the beginning of true international football competition, organized by FIFA, FIFA recognizes Uruguay as four-time world champions and allows the team to wear four stars on their uniforms during official international football competitions. (Before 1974, the FIFA World Cup was referred to as the Football World Championship, and the nine champions from 1930 to 1970 received replicas of the Jules Rimet Trophy. Uruguay hosted and won the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, beating Argentina 4–2 in the final. They won their fourth and last title in 1950, upsetting host Brazil 2–1 in the final match. The team have qualified for twelve World Cups, reaching the second round in all but three, the semifinals five times, and the finals twice. They also won the gold medal in Olympic football twice, in 1924 and 1928, before the creation of the World Cup. Uruguay won the 1980 Mundialito, a tournament comprising former World Cup champions hosted in Uruguay to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first World Championship. Uruguay is one of the most successful teams in the world, having won 19 FIFA official titles: 2 World Championships, 2 Olympic Games, and 15 Copa América championships.
Uruguay refused to participate in 1934 and defend their title because many European nations declined to take part in 1930 held in Uruguay. They also refused to enter in 1938 because FIFA's decision to hold the tournament in France caused outrage in South America where it was believed that the venue would alternate between the two continents.
World Cup record
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Champions | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 |
.svg.png){kind=small} | Did not enter | |||||||
 | ||||||||
.svg.png){kind=small} | Champions[1] | 1st | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 5 |
 | Fourth place | 4th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 9 |
 | Did not qualify | |||||||
 | Group stage | 13th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
 | Fourth place | 4th | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
 | Group stage | 13th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
 | Did not qualify | |||||||
 | ||||||||
| Round of 16 | 16th | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
 | Round of 16 | 16th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| ||||||||
  | Group stage | 26th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Did not qualify | |||||||
 | Fourth place | 4th | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 8 |
 | Round of 16 | 12th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
 | TBD | |||||||
| Total | 13/21 | 2 titles | 56 | 24 | 12 | 20 | 87 | 74 |
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
| Uruguay's World Cup record | |
|---|---|
| First Match | .svg.png){kind=small} (18 July 1930; Montevideo, Uruguay) |
| Biggest Win | .svg.png){kind=small} (2 July 1950; Belo Horizonte, Brazil) |
| Biggest Defeat |  (8 June 1986; Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico) |
| Best Result | Champions in 1930 and 1950 |
| Worst Result | Group stage in 1962, 1974 and 2002 |
Record by opponent
| Against | Wins | Draws | Losses | Total | GS | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | +1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 |
.svg.png){kind=small} | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | +8 |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1 |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -6 |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 3 | +3 |
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 | -6 |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 |
.svg.png){kind=small} | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | +7 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -3 |
.svg.png){kind=small} | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | +3 |
Uruguay 1930
| ||
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 4 |
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | –2 | 2 |
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | –3 | 0 |
.svg.png){kind=small}
Brazil 1950
| ||
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | |
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
|
withdrew | |||||||
 |
withdrew | |||||||
Final Round
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 4 |
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 2 |
.svg.png){kind=small} |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 1 |
Switzerland 1954
| ||
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 |
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
Míguez  Schiaffino |
Report |
Quarter-Final
.svg.png){kind=small}
Chile 1962
| | |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 1.60 | 5 |
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 2.67 | 4 |
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0.67 | 2 |
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 0.45 | 1 |
| Uruguay | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sasía |
Report | Mamykin Ivanov |
England 1966
| ||
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ∞ | 5 |
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2.00 | 4 |
.svg.png){kind=small} |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0.33 | 2 |
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0.40 | 1 |
Quarter-Final
| Uruguay | 0–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Haller Beckenbauer Seeler |
Mexico 1970
| ||
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 |
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 |
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | –2 | 2 |
.svg.png){kind=small}
Bronze Final
| Uruguay | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Overath |
West Germany 1974
| ||
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 5 |
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 4 |
.svg.png){kind=small} |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | –3 | 2 |
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | –5 | 1 |
| Uruguay | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Rep |
Mexico 1986
| ||
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 6 |
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | –1 | 3 |
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | –5 | 2 |
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | –2 | 1 |
| Uruguay | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Alzamendi |
Report | Allofs |
| Denmark | 6–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Elkjær Larsen Lerby Laudrup J.Olsen |
Report | Francescoli |
Italy 1990
| | |
Group E
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 5 |
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 4 |
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | –1 | 3 |
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | –5 | 0 |
| South Korea | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Fonseca |
Korea/Japan 2002
South Africa 2010
Group A
| | |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 7 |
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | –2 | 4 |
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | –4 | 1 |
| South Africa | 0–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Forlán Á. Pereira |
Quarter-Final
| Uruguay | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Forlán |
Report | Muntari |
| Penalties | ||
Forlán  Victorino Scotti M. Pereira  Abreu |
4–2 | |
Semi-Final
| Uruguay | 2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Forlán M. Pereira |
Report | van Bronckhorst Sneijder Robben |
Brazil 2014
Group D
| ||
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 |
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | –1 | 3 |
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | –2 | 1 |
Russia 2018
| ||
Group A
| Uruguay | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Suárez |
Most appearances
| No. | Name | Matches | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fernando Muslera | 16 | 2010, 2014 and 2018 |
| 2 | Edinson Cavani | 14 | 2010, 2014 and 2018 |
| Diego Godín | 14 | 2010, 2014 and 2018 | |
| 4 | Ladislao Mazurkiewicz | 13 | 1966, 1970 and 1974 |
| Luis Suárez | 13 | 2010, 2014 and 2018 | |
| 6 | Julio César Cortés | 11 | 1962, 1966 and 1970 |
| Egidio Arévalo Ríos | 11 | 2010 and 2014 | |
| Martín Cáceres | 11 | 2010, 2014 and 2018 | |
| 9 | Pedro Rocha | 10 | 1962, 1966, 1970 and 1974 |
| Luis Ubiña | 10 | 1966 and 1970 | |
| Diego Forlán | 10 | 2002, 2010 and 2014 | |
| Maxi Pereira | 10 | 2010 and 2014 |
Top goalscorers
| No. | Name | Goals | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oscar Míguez | 8 | 1950 (5) and 1954 (3) |
| 2 | Luis Suárez | 7 | 2010 (3), 2014 (2) and 2018 (2) |
| 3 | Diego Forlán | 6 | 2002 (1) and 2010 (5) |
| 4 | Pedro Cea | 5 | 1930 |
| Juan Alberto Schiaffino | 5 | 1950 (3) and 1954 (2) | |
| Edinson Cavani | 5 | 2010 (1), 2014 (1), and 2018 (3) | |
| 7 | Alcides Ghiggia | 4 | 1950 |
| Carlos Borges | 4 | 1954 | |
| 9 | Peregrino Anselmo | 3 | 1930 |
| Juan Hohberg | 3 | 1954 |
References
- There was no official World Cup final match in 1950. The tournament winner was decided by a final round-robin group contested by four teams (Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden, and Spain). However, Uruguay's 2–1 victory over Brazil (a match known as Maracanazo) was the decisive match (and also coincidentally one of the last two matches of the tournament) which put them ahead on points and ensured that they finished top of the group as world champions. Therefore, this match is often considered the "final" of the 1950 World Cup "WC Finals 1950" (pdf). | (150 KiB). Likewise, Sweden's 3–1 victory over Spain (played at the same time as Uruguay vs Brazil) ensured that they finished third.
- This is one of several goals for which the statistical details are disputed. The goalscorers and timings used here are those of FIFA, the official record. Some other sources, such as RSSSF, state a different scorer and/or timing. See "World Cup 1930 finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF).
- "FIFA World Cup Origin" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 2009-11-17.