Marcelo Bielsa loses temper in post-match interview following Uruguay’s World Cup elimination

Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay suffered elimination from the 2026 World Cup after their 1-0 defeat to Spain in their final group game.

It has not been a memorable campaign for the two-time world champions, as they were only able to claim draws against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde before losing to Spain.

The South American nation have had to watch Cape Verde progress from in second place in their maiden World Cup after they collected three draws from as many fixtures, seeing the Tubarões Azuis achieve a unique feat.

Bielsa appeared to be emotional following Uruguay’s elimination from the World Cup as he lost his temper in the post-match interview on the DAZN broadcast.

The Argentine was caught on camera shouting at the journalist ahead of the interview, wishing to get it done quickly to make his way into the changing room with his Uruguay squad.

Before the interview started, Bielsa shouted: “Just do it already!"

Throughout the interview with DAZN, he appeared emotional and wanting to be anywhere but on camera as he gave short, sharp answers, claiming Fernando Muslera asked to come off following his mistake for the goal and that blame for their elimination was his fault as he failed to get the best out of the team before signing off with a grumpy “You’re welcome.”

In the post-match press conference Bielsa appeared slightly more measured in his answers as he explained the rationale behind his decisions for his side.

He said: “Muslera decided to come off, and I replaced Valverde with Viñas because I wanted to add power to the attack, which depends on both the player who comes on and the one who goes off.”

Bielsa would then summarize his time in charge of the South American nation as a ‘complete failure’ following Uruguay’s elimination from the tournament.

He said: “I'm leaving nothing behind for Uruguayan football. Any contribution a coach can make to a country where he's worked for three years is meaningless if he doesn't achieve results.

“Fourth place in the World Cup Qualifiers was worthless, third place in the Copa América was equally meaningless, and this performance doesn't need further explanation. My time here has been a complete failure.”