Uruguay blames – Uruguay’s AUF says FIFA is responsible for a chaotic delay in the team’s U.S. travel ahead of their World Cup opener in Miami against Saudi Arabia. The squad departed later than planned after the first flight from Cancún was not authorized to enter the U.S., l
A World Cup opener is supposed to start with routines—hotel corridors, warm-ups, a stadium’s first familiar sight. For Uruguay, the routine is being rewritten by a travel delay that has pushed their entire week in Miami forward by hours.
The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) said the squad will not arrive in the United States until around 24 hours before Uruguay’s first group-stage match. set for Monday at 6pm ET against Saudi Arabia in Miami. The AUF blamed FIFA for complications that began with the team’s scheduled departure from Cancún, Mexico.
Uruguay’s delegation was set to board a flight from Cancún, but that flight was not authorized to enter the U.S., according to multiple reports in Uruguay. A second plane was then commissioned to take the squad to South Florida.
On Sunday, AUF issued a statement that the departure from Mexico had been delayed “due to problems beyond the control of the AUF.” It said the squad was resting at the hotel, and pointed to a new departure time “set by FIFA” of 4.15pm.
When The Athletic asked an AUF spokesperson whether the delays had been FIFA’s fault, the spokesperson replied, “Correct.”
The dispute sits in sharp contrast to FIFA’s account of what went wrong. FIFA said the delay was caused by “an airline permitting error in Mexico. ” which it said delayed Uruguay’s departure from Cancún to Miami. FIFA added that the airline had apologized for the inconvenience. It also said FIFA remained in close contact with the Uruguay national team throughout the delay and worked with airport and operational partners to help expedite the process and minimize disruption.
What matters most for players is the knock-on effect: timing. Uruguay had a training session on Sunday morning in Cancún. Head coach Marcelo Bielsa and central defender Jose Maria Gimenez were scheduled to speak to reporters in Miami at 6.45pm local time, but the news conference took place at 8pm.
The conflict over responsibility also fits into a larger pattern of Uruguay’s public frustrations with how tournaments are run. During the 2024 Conmebol Copa América—held in the U.S.—Bielsa said the competition had not been professionally organized. He referred to Conmebol as “a plague of liars. ” adding: “They do press conferences and say ‘No. the fields are perfect. the training pitches are perfect.’… I have all the photos that show that these are all lies.”.
Bielsa also pointed to an earlier dispute involving U.S. interests. saying: “The United States. Bielsa continued. ‘I’ll remind you. when they felt their interests were being attacked. they created FIFAGate. With the FBI. They did what they did, but it was for their interests. Here?. Nothing happened. This was a fantastic party, a competitive tournament, there’s nothing to complain about.’”.
AUF’s message on Sunday carried its own echo from the past. On Sunday. AUF’s official X account shared former Uruguay striker Diego Forlán’s 2010 post about another charter flight delay—this time. bemoaning that the national team’s flight had been delayed by an hour one day before its first World Cup game. Forlán wrote: “Who is to blame???” followed by “Arriba Uruguay!!”.
As Uruguay head toward Monday’s kickoff in Miami. the argument over where the failure truly began—FIFA’s operational role. or an airline permitting error in Mexico—has landed on a simple. lived outcome. Their schedule is the one being affected, and the team’s arrival is now tightly compressed against matchday.
Uruguay FIFA AUF World Cup 2026 Saudi Arabia Miami Cancún travel delay Marcelo Bielsa Jose Maria Gimenez Diego Forlan