Sporting starter out of national team, Rui Borges relieved | OneFootball

Marcelo Bielsa brought about a revolution in Uruguay’s squad selection for the double October fixtures against the Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan, as preparation for the 2026 World Cup. Maxi Araújo, a regular starter for Sporting, was left out of the squad.

The Uruguayan coach took advantage of the fact that these are two friendly matches and left out several important names. In addition to Rui Borges’ protégé, Federico Valverde (Real Madrid), Ronald Araújo (Barcelona), Darwin Núñez (Al Hilal), and José María Giménez (Atlético Madrid) were also rested.

Marcelo Bielsa called up 17 players who play outside Uruguay, including the former Sporting player Franco Israel (Torino), as well as midfielder Rodrigo Zalazar, who scored yesterday in the 1-1 draw at Alvalade for Braga, joining them with 12 more young players from the country’s under-18 team.

Both friendlies will take place in Malaysia. The Celeste finished fourth in the qualifiers for the next World Cup, ahead of Brazil, with the same 28 points as the Canarinha, now coached by Italian Carlo Ancelotti.

This season, wearing Sporting’s shirt, Maxi Araújo – valued at 17 million euros – has played eight matches. Over the 519 minutes he was used by Rui Borges, the Uruguayan international has yet to score, but has already provided one assist.

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