The Celeste coach is preparing to face Verdeamarela again in the Qualifiers, one of his toughest rivals.
The South American Qualifiers will see one of the biggest matches on the continent this Tuesday. As part of the 12th day of the process of determining the teams that will be present at the 2026 World Cup, The Brazilian team will host Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay .
The Canarinha is presented as one of the most complicated rivals that the Rosario player has had to face as a coach. So far, the Argentine coach has faced Scratch 12 times, including two in charge of La Roja.
In total, the trans-Andean team recorded three wins, two draws and seven defeats, with Brazil being one of the teams that beat them the most. Despite this, he remained undefeated in two duels .
The last time they met was in the 2024 Copa América in the United States in the quarterfinals of the tournament. On this occasion, Celeste had to fight with one player less in the 74′, tie 0-0 in regulation time and win on penalties .
After this duel, Bielsa admitted that the victory had been obtained “the Uruguayan way”. “With a man less, we resigned ourselves to defending in our field, but we did not suffer any goal situations during the entire second half,” he said of Nández’s expulsion.
In this sense, he highlighted the personality of his players during the 90 minutes and during the penalty shootout, which, in his words, represent the essence of Uruguayan football.
“It is true that clinging to a result as the Uruguayan team did indicates a profile of Uruguayan football (…) Penalties require not only skill, but also character. “, he said.
One of the rare joys
Of course, to find Uruguay’s last victory against Brazil, we have to go back to October 2023. For the fourth date of the Qualifiers, The Bielsa-led side secured a remarkable 2-0 victory against a Brazil who had gone 12 games unbeaten against Uruguay, accumulating seven wins and five draws. . Until then, the Celeste had not beaten them since July 2001 during the qualifiers for the Korea-Japan 2002 World Cup.
At the same time, Bielsa ended a streak of 5 matches without a win against Brazil: three with La Roja and two with the Argentina national team .
After the match, the Rosario coach valued the victory: “I have a very great feeling of gratitude to the players because we all saw how they fought, how they protected themselves and looked for the result. Grateful for the joy they gave us all.
“Out of the four games we have played, this victory is of course different from the previous one. Playing against Brazil is always an added challenge, so, among the four of us who played, this victory is the highlight. “, he added.
When asked if tonight’s victory was one of the best wins of his career, he replied: “Wins and their impact depend on what is achieved in the end and the fourth round of the Qualifiers, no achievement cannot be conceived for the moment beyond that. it is a very great joy and a reason for gratitude.
Regarding the match, Bielsa said: “The match was definitely good, it is not easy to avoid dangerous situations against Brazil’s attackers. We shared the ball a lot and they moved around easily, I would have liked to increase the number of recoveries in the rival field. We attack from recovery and if it is high it is easier for us. What is positive is the way we defended, what we need to correct is how to get the ball away from the opponent faster. “, he analyzed.
Now as a visitor, Uruguay faces Brazil again in the qualifiers and with the possibility of matching Argentina, who occupies the top of the standings, on points, although for this Peru must also surprise the Albiceleste at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires. Areas.
“We will do our best or we will try what we always look for, whether we have the ball and it is played on their field. Generate insecurity and ensure that they make mistakes in their own area and that we do not lose the ball in ours. This is the description of the intentions with which we play all the matches,” Bielsa said about the duel against Scratch after the last match against Colombia.
“If Colombia is an athletically strong team, with an offensive system with a great capacity to create danger, an organization to press and a way of keeping the precious ball, Brazil has all that and probably better. “, he assured.
The match between Brazil and Uruguay for the 12th round of the Qualifiers is scheduled for Tuesday, November 19 from 9:45 p.m. in Chile.
Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
