Bielsa reacts to Uruguay’s 5-1 thrashing by the United States | OneFootball

The Uruguay National Team was thrashed by a "B" team from United States. La Celeste lost 5-1 to an alternative squad led by Mauricio Pochettino, in a friendly match held in Florida. The disastrous performance of the team has Marcelo Bielsa as the main target of the Uruguayan press.

“There is no way the best players of Uruguay can lose against a secondary group from the United States,” was the main conclusion of the Argentine coach in a press conference, who admitted: “I don't see or feel that there should be an individual or collective complaint and not having that feeling, the part of the responsibility that falls on me grows, which in this case is all.”

He added: “Our team played with players who play more frequently against others who do not play as often in the United States, and the differences were as you saw. So, what is clear is the management I make of a team that was outplayed as Uruguay was today.”

Thinking about the future, he stated: “This is not a problem of absences. I cannot say what needs to be done during December, January, February, and March to change this reality, because the key element is contact with the players and that requires matches. Until that time, there will be no matches, which is how we can communicate.”

When asked if he will focus on the football aspect or the mental aspect, he concluded: “No, psychological in no way. If there is something that has been maintained, it is the competitive fierceness of the Uruguayan players, it is not about that. It is about proposing a functioning that allows you to get closer to the competition and surpass the opponent.”

The Uruguayan press destroyed Bielsa

The South American team is going through a deep football crisis just seven months before the 2026 World Cup. The great version it showed at the start of the Loco's cycle, which began to crumble after the 2024 Copa América, is now a distant memory. Therefore, the Uruguayan media showed no mercy to the Argentine strategist.

“Shameful thrashing,” “a disgrace,” and “historic humiliation” were some of the words used by the main portals in Uruguay to describe the defeat of their team, which was already coming from a 0-0 draw with Mexico that left more doubts than certainties.

An unprecedented defeat for Uruguay

Tuesday's match was the first defeat since 2002 for Uruguay against the United States. The last time was a 2-1 loss in a friendly match held in Washington, weeks before the Korea-Japan World Cup. In fact, in history, the Americans had never been able to score more than two goals against La Celeste.

As if that were not enough, the Uruguayan team had not conceded five goals since 2004, when they were thrashed 5-0 by Colombia in Barranquilla during the Qualifiers. Their last defeat by four goals difference was in 2012, also against the Colombians in the same city.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.