In an emotional statement, Suarez revealed through tears that his final match for Uruguay will be the 2026 World Cup qualifying game against Paraguay on Friday.
EDITOR’S PICKS
“I’ve been thinking about this and analysing this. I believe this is the right time,” Suarez said on Monday.
“I want to be relaxed when I play my last game with the national team. I’ll be just as excited to play as I was in 2007 when I played for my national team for the first time. That 19-year old kid is now a veteran player, an older player — however you want to call it — with an incredible history with the national team will give his life for the team on Friday.”
Luis Suarez is Uruguay’s all-time leading scorer, with 69 goals in 142 appearances over a 14-year international career.
The former striker for Liverpool, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid last represented his country in the 2024 Copa America, where he played in the third-place play-off against Canada in July.
Suarez scored a dramatic 92nd-minute equalizer and converted his penalty in the shootout, helping Uruguay secure third place. He was not included in the squad for Uruguay’s recent 1-1 draw against Guatemala in a friendly on Sunday.
Suarez participated in nine major tournaments with Uruguay and was a key player in their 2011 Copa America-winning team. He scored four goals in that tournament, including twice in the semi-finals and once in the final, earning him the Player of the Tournament award as Uruguay claimed their 15th Copa America title, the first since 1995.
Suarez made his senior debut for Uruguay in February 2007 against Colombia, but his first match ended in controversy as he was sent off after receiving two yellow cards.
He went on to play in his first World Cup in 2010, where he scored three goals in six matches, including both goals in Uruguay’s 2-1 victory over South Korea in the round of 16.
In the quarter-finals against Ghana, Suarez became infamous for his last-minute handball on the goal line, preventing a certain goal. Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan missed the resulting penalty, hitting the crossbar, and Uruguay advanced to the semi-finals after winning the penalty shootout, reaching that stage of the World Cup for the first time since 1970.
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