Former Liverpool striker, Luis Suarez, has been snubbed by Marcelo Bielsa for the Uruguay 2026 FIFA World Cup squad.
Suarez had previously retired from international football in 2024 after the Copa America, where Uruguay finished third. He made himself available for the tournament after a successful year in MLS last season, where he scored 10 and assisted 11. This season hasn’t been as successful, with six goals and one assist in 11 games.
Suarez has scored the most goals for Uruguay in history, with 69, and only Diego Godwin has played for the South American nation more.
Luis Suarez will miss the World Cup after being left out of Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay squad. ❌
The country's all-time top goal scorer had made himself available for selection again having announced his retirement in 2024. 🇺🇾
Another big name not going to the biggest tournament.… pic.twitter.com/m8j9oDoJQT
— Football Insider (@footyinsider247) May 31, 2026
Suarez played for Liverpool from 2011 to 2014 and left after he featured at the 2014 World Cup, leaving for Barcelona.
The forward scored seven goals and provided five assists in 16 World Cup games stretching from 2010 to 2022.
Suarez: the good, the bad and the ugly of World Cups
Luis Suarez has always been a controversial figure, and a lot of these moments came at World Cups. They are part of what made him so entertaining to watch, but they could also leave you baffled as to what he was thinking.
World Cup domination in the 2010 group stage
The best of Luis Suarez came in the 2010 group stage in South Africa, as he helped inspire Uruguay to the later knockout stages. Of the six goals that they scored in the group stage and round of 16, Suarez was involved in five.
He assisted two of the three against South Africa and scored the only goal against Mexico. In the round of 16, he scored both goals against South Korea as Uruguay would win 2-1. He repeated his heroics in both 2014 and 2018.
He scored both goals as Uruguay beat England in 2014, and in 2018, he scored in two of the group games and assisted in the round of 16 as Uruguay upset Portugal.
Denying an African semi-finalist in an African World Cup
With seconds to go in extra time, the 2010 quarter-final against Ghana, the African side thought they had scored the winner from a corner, but Luis Suarez famously clawed the ball back off the line. Suarez was rightly sent off and a penalty given, but Asamoah Gyan put the ball over the bar, and Suarez celebrated as he watched on from the tunnel.
An Italian dinner in 2014
Suarez had discipline problems throughout his time at Liverpool. One of the ugliest incidents came when he bit Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.
In 2014, Suarez was involved in a similar incident with Giorgio Chiellini. The striker faced another lengthy ban, and Liverpool sold him on to Barcelona.
Uruguay’s forward selections
Marcelo Bielsa has opted for three forwards ahead of Suarez. The most experienced of the trio is another former Red, Darwin Nunez. No player in the squad has scored more international goals than Nunez, with 13.
He will be joined by Federico Vinas and Rodrigo Aguirre. Both these forwards have fewer international caps than Darwin Nunez has goals for his country.