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The match between Uruguay and Peru that will be played this Thursday at 8:30pm at the Centenario Stadium could be the last official match of several historic players with the Uruguayan National Team. Among them are Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, Martin Cáceres, Diego Godin and Fernando Muslera.
Diego Alonso, Uruguay's new technical director, after the historic Maestro Tabárez, has on his roster five players who, since the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, where the country took fourth place, are joining the team. They also went through the World Cup in Brazil, in 2014, where they reached number twelfth and the one in Russia, in 2018, where they achieved fifth place.
If Uruguay were to qualify for the World Cup, it is possible that some preparatory matches will be held at the Centennial, but these would be within the framework of FIFA dates and not of an official nature.
It is also likely that the World Cup Qualifiers in Canada, the United States and Mexico in 2026 will begin at the end of 2023, so it is almost definite that they will not play for qualifying points again at the Centenario Stadium.
“The moments that you live in the national team are second to none. These are the last matches that you can be experiencing with the national team, so you enjoy it differently and wanting to do important things like getting to a World Cup,” said Luis Suárez, one of the players who makes up the squad for this match with Peru, Ovación reported.
In addition, with 35 years of age and 67 goals for the Uruguayan National Team (the top scorer in history), he did not deny that his walk as a player for the Uruguayan Football Association is close to the end.
“Playing a fourth World Cup would be incredible for me and for some of the other teammates who are going to have that opportunity,” said Suarez, referring to the other four players who also started their golden era with the World Cup in South Africa.
To this day, Luis Suarez has 130 matches played with la celeste (the name given to the Uruguayan team's shirt) and 67 goals. Cavani has 128 matches and 54 balls in the goal. Godin 155 matches and 8 goals. Muslera, the well-known goalkeeper of the National Team, has 131 games played.
The Suarez — Cavani era
In 2006, the under-20 team was directed by Gustavo Ferrín. At that time, the path began in the Uruguayan National Team of the two top scorers in the history of the country.
Suarez came first. He made his debut on June 7 of that same year against Chile at the Centenario Stadium, where Uruguay won 2-1. Cavani appeared on December 13, against the Gaucho National Team, and scored the first goal of a pre-South American preparation match that would end 2-0 with Uruguay as the winner.
On June 19, 2007, both already seen as scorers in their categories, the U20 played their pre-World Cup farewell match, again against Chile, and that was the first time Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani played together. During the Youth World Cup in July of that year they consolidated as a front pair, being left out in the round of 16 in a match against the United States.
From that moment on, they would be accompanied in the Americas Cups, in World Cups and in different matches of the National Team. When the World Cup arrived in South Africa in 2010, they were a key part of the team that led Uruguay to fourth place.
According to the data of historian Santiago Rodríguez, until mid-2021, the duo had 72 games played together as starters, with 37 of them won, 20 tied and 15 lost. On the occasions when this happened, the team scored 131 out of 216 points, achieving 60.64% effectiveness in the game, ESPN reported.
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