Where has it gone wrong for Bielsa's struggling Uruguay?

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Marcelo Bielsa will step down as Uruguay head coach after the 2026 World Cup By Tim Vickery South American football expert Published 16 minutes ago Only a positive result against European champions Spain will prevent a humiliating early World Cup exit for Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay. The former Leeds boss sought positives after draws with Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. "Now we have to play Spain with the necessity and obligation of winning," Bielsa said. It was, he added, "an opportunity for the team to improve the impression they are making against a great opponent." A positive spin on a bleak situation. Friday night's match (Saturday 01:00 BST) had been billed before the tournament as a group decider, but defeat would leave Uruguay among the 16 sides eliminated before the knockout stage in the expanded 48-team tournament. Video vault and Leeds litter picking - inside the mind of Bielsa Published 4 June 'Not a model' - Bielsa refuses to engage with World Cup photoshoot Published 16 June Typically, Bielsa blames himself. "I am responsible for Uruguay only having two points from a possible six," he said. At 70, he may be nearing the end of a colourful career at the top level. His work with Uruguay is hardly a convincing advert, and the performance crisis is clear. Yet, for all their struggles in this tournament, there have been flashes of a level above much of what they produced over the past two years. It had started so well. After the Qatar World Cup, Bielsa took over a team in need of generational change and, as with Chile before, inherited a group well suited to his dynamic, attacking style. Uruguay made an impressive start to South America's World Cup qualifiers - winning away to Argentina, beating Brazil and - after six rounds - scoring almost twice as many goals as any other side. Then came the 2024 Copa America. Uruguay began with a flurry of goals - and then hit a wall. Things have not been the same since. In November they were thrashed 5-1 by the USA and his old protege Mauricio Pochettino, and when they snatched a draw against England at Wembley in March, they barely crossed halfway - unthinkable for a Bielsa side. Has Bielsa become predictable? So where has it all gone wrong? Part of the answer may lie beyond the coach's control. It is striking how many of Uruguay's players have failed to kick on at club level. Federico Valverde has yet to make an impact in the tournament, though he is now a star at Real Madrid. Others appear to have stalled or regressed - Rodrigo Bentancur, Manuel Ugarte, Facundo Pellistri and Darwin Nunez among them. Even so, Bielsa would be expected - and makes clear he shares that expectation - to get more from the resources at his disposal. Has his model become too predictable? His high-press, suffocating style was once revolutionary but is now firmly in the mainstream. Bielsa himself has shown doubts. Uruguay played no warm-up games before the World Cup, opting instead for int