Uruguay boss Bielsa defends World Cup photos: ‘I did nothing wrong’

Marcelo Bielsa says players and coaches have “no obligation to act like models” after the Uruguay manager took part in an awkward photoshoot for the World Cup 2026.

A video taken during the creation of team promotional material for the finals shows Bielsa shaking his head while looking steadfastly downwards in an apparent refusal to engage with the cameras.

“I don’t have to give any explanation,” Bielsa said after his team’s opening 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia in Miami.

“They took the photo of me the way they took it. I am not a model. I was facing the photographers, and that was the photo they got of me.”

World Cup 2026: Marcelo Bielsa on Uruguay photos

The shoots are usually a chance for players and staff to strike a pose for tournament portraits.

Among Bielsa’s squad, examples included Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte smiling and pointing at the Uruguay badge on his shirt, former Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez eyeing the lens head on and Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde raising his index finger in one snap and holding it to his lips in another.

By contrast, Bielsa – known for his occasional unusual antics and force of character during his time as a hugely popular Leeds United head coach between 2018 and 2022 – has his hands in his pockets and looks at the floor in each of his pictures.

“I believe there is a limit to what needs to be explained,” argued the 70-year-old, whose former teams include Lille, Lazio, Marseille, Chile and his native Argentina.

“If one wears glasses, why do they wear glasses? If one looks someone in the eye, why do they look them in the eye? If one looks up or looks down? Do so many things really need to be explained?

“Simply put, explanations are being sought for situations that do not require them. There is nothing wrong with it; one can wear glasses, one can look straight ahead, one can look down.

“We are under no obligation to act like models just to satisfy expectations that have no real substance. I did nothing wrong.”

Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay: Bielsa on World Cup opener

Bielsa was also unimpressed by Uruguay’s poor start to their campaign, sending on Agustin Canobbio and Juan Manuel Sanabria for Matias Vina and Darwin Nunez at half-time with his side behind.

The changes led to a dominant second half for the two-time champions, who equalised 10 minutes from time through Sporting’s Maximiliano Araujo and ended on 28 attempts at goal.

“The team was sluggish, without dynamics, without pressing, without forcing errors and without depth throughout the first half,” assessed Bielsa.

“When it became apparent that we weren’t establishing a [foothold], our opponents believed they could and, ultimately, did.

“Our failure to win – without taking anything away from the qualities of our opponents – is mostly tied to the fact that we didn’t achieve the version of ourselves that we are capable of.

“There is an easy path where we could just say ‘yes, we deserved to win’; we missed 10 chances in the second half.

“But a match is the sum of all its parts. While it’s true that in the second half the team’s performances changed… we didn’t utilise 45 minutes when we were in a position to do exactly what we did in the second half.”

World Cup 2026: Uruguay ‘were supposed to win’

Saudi Arabia shocked Argentina in the first match at the 2022 finals and were considerable underdogs against Uruguay, who started the finals 44 places above them in FIFA’s rankings.

With minnows Cape Verde proving their own shock power by holding Spain 0-0 in the first match in the section, Uruguay could face tougher tests ahead.

“The concrete fact is that today’s match was a winnable one that we didn’t win,” rued Beilsa.

“The fact that the other match ended in a draw doesn’t soften the reality that today, when we were supposed to win, we didn’t.”

Uruguay World Cup fixtures, schedule

Here’s how Uruguay’s remaining group fixtures look. Asterisk denotes match starting the following day in that territory.

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