This is a record of Uruguay's results at the FIFA World Cup. Uruguay have won four FIFA-organized World Football Championships. They won the first World Championship organized by FIFA under the Olympic Committee umbrella with true representation from all continents; before then, football in the Olympics comprised only European teams. Uruguay then won the next two World Cups (Jules Rimet Trophy) in which they participated; these tournaments, the 1930 and 1950 FIFA World Cups, were fully independent from the Olympics and employed clear rules distinguishing professional and amateur football players. Since 1924 was the beginning of true international football competition, organized by FIFA, FIFA recognizes Uruguay as two time world champions and allows the team to wear two stars on their uniforms during official international football competitions. (Before 1974, the FIFA World Cup was referred to as the Football World Championship, and the nine champions from 1930 to 1970 received replicas of the Jules Rimet Trophy.) Uruguay hosted and won the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, beating Argentina 4–2 in the final. They won their second and most recent title in 1950, upsetting host Brazil 2–1 in the final match.

In total, Uruguay have qualified for fifteen World Cups, reaching the second round in ten, the semi-finals five times, and the final twice. They also won the gold medal in Olympic football twice, in 1924 and 1928, before the creation of the World Cup. Uruguay won the 1980 Mundialito, a tournament comprising former World Cup champions hosted in Uruguay to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first World Championship. Uruguay is one of the most successful teams in the world, having won twenty FIFA official titles: two World Cups, two Olympic Games, fifteen Copa América championships, and the 1980 World Champions' Gold Cup.

Uruguay refused to participate in 1934 and defend their title because many European nations declined to take part in 1930 held in Uruguay. They also refused to enter in 1938 because FIFA's decision to hold the tournament in France caused outrage in South America where it was believed that the venue would alternate between the two continents.

Record at the FIFA World Cup Overall record YearRoundPositionPldWD*LGFGA 1930Champions1st4400153 1934Did not qualify 1938 1950ChampionsThere was no official World Cup final match in 1950. The tournament winner was decided by a final round-robin group contested by four teams (Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden, and Spain). However, Uruguay's 2–1 victory over Brazil (a match known as Maracanazo) was the decisive match (and also coincidentally one of the last two matches of the tournament) which put them ahead on points and ensured that they finished top of the group as world champions. Therefore, this match is often considered the "final" of the 1950 World Cup | . Likewise, Sweden's 3–1 victory over Spain (played at the same time as Uruguay vs Brazil) ensured that they finished third.1st4310155 1954Fourth place4th5302169 1958Did not qualify 1962Group stage13th310246 1966Quarter-finals7th412125 1970Fourth place4th621345 1974Group stage13th301216 1978Did not qualify 1982 1986Round of 1616th402228 1990Round of 1616th411225 1994Did not qualify 1998 2002Group stage26th302145 2006Did not qualify 2010Fourth place4th7322118 2014Round of 1612th420246 2018Quarter-finals5th540173 2022Group stage20th311122 2026 Group stage 37th302134 2030Qualified as centenary co-hosts 2034To be determinedTotal15/232 Titles622515229280 *Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Uruguay's World Cup recordFirst Match Uruguay 1–0 (18 July 1930; Montevideo, Uruguay)Biggest Win 8–0 (2 July 1950; Belo Horizonte, Brazil)Biggest Defeat 61 (8 June 1986; Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico)Best ResultChampions in 1930 and 1950Worst ResultGroup stage in 1962, 1974, 2002, 2022, and 2026

By match List of FIFA World Cup matchesYearRoundOpponentScoreResult1930Group stage1–0WinGroup stage4–0WinSemi-final6–1WinFinal4–2Win1950Group stage8–0WinFinal round2–2DrawFinal round3–2WinFinal round2–1Win1954Group stage2–0WinGroup stage7–0WinQuarter-final4–2WinSemi-final2–4 LossMatch for third place1–3Loss1962Group stage2–1WinGroup stage1–3LossGroup stage1–2Loss1966Group stage0–0DrawGroup stage2–1WinGroup stage0–0DrawQuarter-final0–4Loss1970Group stage2–0WinGroup stage0–0DrawGroup stage0–1LossQuarter-final1–0 WinSemi-final1–3LossMatch for third place0–1Loss1974Group stage0–2LossGroup stage1–1DrawGroup stage0–3Loss1986Group stage1–1DrawGroup stage1–6LossGroup stage0–0DrawRound of 160–1Loss1990Group stage0–0DrawGroup stage1–3LossGroup stage1–0WinRound of 160–2Loss2002Group stage1–2LossGroup stage0–0DrawGroup stage3–3Draw2010Group stage0–0DrawGroup stage3–0WinGroup stage1–0WinRound of 162–1WinQuarter-final1–1 DrawSemi-final2–3LossMatch for third place2–3Loss2014Group stage1–3LossGroup stage2–1WinGroup stage1–0WinRound of 160–2Loss2018Group stage1–0WinGroup stage1–0WinGroup stage3–0WinRound of 162–1WinQuarter-final0–2Loss2022Group stage0–0DrawGroup stage0–2LossGroup stage2–0Win2026Group stage1–1DrawGroup stage2–2DrawGroup stage0–1Loss2030Group stageTBAvGroup stageTBAvGroup stageTBAv

Uruguay 1930

Team220050+54210135–22200214–30

Semi-finals

Final

Brazil 1950

Team11008021001080withdrewwithdrew

Final round

Team3210755320114443102611230124111

Switzerland 1954

Team2200904220060420020702002080

Quarter-final

Semi-final

Match for third place

Chile 1962

Team3210851.6053201832.6743102460.67230125110.451

England 1966

Team321040∞53120212.0043021130.3323012250.401

Quarter-final

Mexico 1970

Team312010+14311121+1331112203302113–22

Quarter-final

Semi-final

Match for third place

West Germany 1974

Team321061+55312030+34302125–32301216–51

Mexico 1986

Team330091+86311134–13302127–52301213–21

Round of 16

Italy 1990

Group E

Team321052+35320163+34311123–13300316–50

Round of 16

South Korea/Japan 2002

Group A

TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts321052+37312054+15302145–12301203–31

South Africa 2010

Group A

TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts321040+47311132+14311135–24301215–41

Round of 16

Quarter-final

Semi-final

Match for third place

Brazil 2014

Group D

Round of 16

Russia 2018

Group A

Round of 16

Quarter-final

Qatar 2022

Group stage

Canada/Mexico/United States 2026

Group stage

Most appearances RankPlayerMatchesWorld Cups1Fernando Muslera192010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 20262Edinson Cavani172010, 2014 and 20183Diego Godín162010, 2014, 2018 and 2022Luis Suárez162010, 2014, 2018 and 20225Ladislao Mazurkiewicz131966, 1970 and 19746Martín Cáceres122010, 2014, 2018 and 20227Julio César Cortés111962, 1966 and 1970Egidio Arévalo112010 and 2014Rodrigo Bentancur112018, 2022 and 202610Pedro Rocha101962, 1966, 1970 and 1974Luis Ubiña101966 and 1970Diego Forlán102002, 2010 and 2014Maxi Pereira102010 and 2014José Giménez102014, 2018, 2022 and 2026

Top goalscorers

On July 18th 1930, Héctor Castro made history by scoring Uruguay's first-ever FIFA World Cup goal. He did it on home soil during the first-ever edition of the tournament against Peru in Montevideo.

RankPlayerGoalsWorld Cups1Oscar Míguez81950 (5) and 1954 (3)2Luis Suárez72010 (3), 2014 (2) and 2018 (2)3Diego Forlán62002 (1) and 2010 (5)4Pedro Cea51930Juan Alberto Schiaffino51950 (3) and 1954 (2)Edinson Cavani52010 (1), 2014 (1), and 2018 (3)7Alcides Ghiggia41950Carlos Borges419549Peregrino Anselmo31930Juan Hohberg31954

Head-to-head record OpponentWin %Total

See also Uruguay at the Copa América South American nations at the FIFA World Cup

References

Reports

External links The Official website of the Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol FIFA Official Ranking of all Participants at Finals 1930–2002. FIFA Match Results for all Stages 1930–2002 FIFA official site