The Uruguay national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez. The Uruguayan side is commonly referred to as La Celeste (The Sky Blue One) or Charrúas.
Uruguay are frequently South American champions, most recently having won the 2011 Copa América. Uruguay have won the Copa América a record 15 times. The team has twice won the FIFA World Cup, including the first World Cup in 1930 as hosts, defeating Argentina 4–2 in the final. They won their second title in 1950, upsetting hosts Brazil 2–1 in the final match, which received an attendance higher than any football match ever.
They have won the Gold Medals in football at the Summer Olympics twice, in 1924 and 1928, before the creation of the World Cup. Uruguay also won the 1980 Mundialito, a tournament among former World Cup champions. In total, Uruguay have won 20 official titles, a world record for the most international titles held by any country.
Their success is amplified by the fact that the nation has a very small population of around 3.4 million inhabitants (2011 est.). Uruguay is by far the smallest country in the world to have won a World Cup in terms of population, 1.75 million inhabitants in 1930. The second-smallest country, by population, to have won the World Cup is Argentina with a population of nearly 28 million people in 1978. Uruguay is also the smallest country ever to win any World Cup medals; only five nations with a currently smaller population than Uruguay's have ever participated in any World Cup: Northern Ireland (three times), Slovenia (twice), Wales, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Uruguay is also the smallest nation to win Olympic gold medals in any team sport.
Uruguay has a long-standing rivalry with Argentina, that came into existence when they beat their South American neighbors 4–2 in the first World Cup final, held in Montevideo in 1930. As a response, the following day saw an angry mob threw stones at the Uruguayan consulate in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires. Uruguay has an old rivalry with their South American neighbors, Brazil.
Uruguay are frequently South American champions, most recently having won the 2011 Copa América. Uruguay have won the Copa América a record 15 times. The team has twice won the FIFA World Cup, including the first World Cup in 1930 as hosts, defeating Argentina 4–2 in the final. They won their second title in 1950, upsetting hosts Brazil 2–1 in the final match, which received an attendance higher than any football match ever.
→ Los Charrúas
Uruguay National Football Team Nickname
→ La Celeste (The Sky Blue One)
They have won the Gold Medals in football at the Summer Olympics twice, in 1924 and 1928, before the creation of the World Cup. Uruguay also won the 1980 Mundialito, a tournament among former World Cup champions. In total, Uruguay have won 20 official titles, a world record for the most international titles held by any country.
Their success is amplified by the fact that the nation has a very small population of around 3.4 million inhabitants (2011 est.). Uruguay is by far the smallest country in the world to have won a World Cup in terms of population, 1.75 million inhabitants in 1930. The second-smallest country, by population, to have won the World Cup is Argentina with a population of nearly 28 million people in 1978. Uruguay is also the smallest country ever to win any World Cup medals; only five nations with a currently smaller population than Uruguay's have ever participated in any World Cup: Northern Ireland (three times), Slovenia (twice), Wales, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Uruguay is also the smallest nation to win Olympic gold medals in any team sport.
Uruguay has a long-standing rivalry with Argentina, that came into existence when they beat their South American neighbors 4–2 in the first World Cup final, held in Montevideo in 1930. As a response, the following day saw an angry mob threw stones at the Uruguayan consulate in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires. Uruguay has an old rivalry with their South American neighbors, Brazil.