Bielsa Takes Responsibility for Uruguay’s Debacle, Says He Left Nothing Good for Uruguayan Football

Uruguay's head coach Marcelo Bielsa looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage match Uruguay against Spain in Guadalajara, Mexico, 26 June 2026. (EPA)

07:41-27 June 2026 AD ـ 12 Muharram 1448 AH

Uruguay's head coach Marcelo Bielsa looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage match Uruguay against Spain in Guadalajara, Mexico, 26 June 2026. (EPA)

Coach Marcelo Bielsa looked desolate after Uruguay's World Cup campaign ended in disappointment Friday, saying he was fully responsible for the team's elimination and blaming himself for leaving nothing good for Uruguayan football during his stint with the national team.

Uruguay lost 1-0 to Spain, leaving the tournament without any victories. It was coming off draws against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. It was newcomer Cape Verde that advanced from Group H in second-place behind Spain.

Bielsa, the Argentine coach whose contract with Uruguay's football federation was valid through the World Cup, said in the past that his work with the national team would end after the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada. His voice had a farewell tone on Friday.

“What do I leave for Uruguayan soccer?" he said. “Nothing, because any contribution that a coach might make to soccer in a country after three years of work never truly takes hold if results aren’t achieved. Fourth place in the qualifiers didn’t count for much, and a third-place finish in the Copa América didn’t, either. And there is obviously no need to spell it out after what happened now.

“A tenure that left nothing behind.”

The veteran coach took full responsibility for the team's campaign at the World Cup, saying he should have been able to get the team to do more considering the quality of its players. But he did feel that Uruguay should have had better luck considering its performances.

“I think we deserved to win seven points from the three matches, but we leave with only two points,” he said.

At 19th in the FIFA rankings, Uruguay is the highest-ranked team to be eliminated so far.

It was the second time Bielsa coached a team that didn't advance past the group stage at the World Cup, following Argentina's debacle in the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. He helped Chile reach the round of 16 of the tournament in South Africa in 2010 for his best World Cup result.

The US Open Is Getting Longer as Players Already Worry Tennis Tournaments Are Becoming Too Long

Tennis - US Open - Flushing Meadows, New York, United States - August 30, 2026 Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik in action during his first round match against J.J. Wolf of the US. (Reuters)

11:34-31 August 2026 AD ـ 18 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

The US Open Is Getting Longer as Players Already Worry Tennis Tournaments Are Becoming Too Long

Tennis - US Open - Flushing Meadows, New York, United States - August 30, 2026 Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik in action during his first round match against J.J. Wolf of the US. (Reuters)

The US Open was a week old by the time Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz opened their title defenses.

What once was a two-week quest for a Grand Slam championship now extends into a third week, and US Tennis Association CEO Craig Tiley was asked how he hoped to continue that growth.

“Four weeks,” he said with a smile.

Some players might fear he is serious.

They were already becoming wary of an overcrowded schedule that makes it hard to find many breaks, even before the US Open moved up the beginning of the singles main draw last year to make it a Sunday start.

“I just hope they will not start on Saturday at some point, you know? And then on Friday and on Thursday, Tuesday, Wednesday,” said Marta Kostyuk, the No. 11 seed from Ukraine. “So I hope this is it.”

Kostyuk was one of the winners Sunday, and those players get the benefit of two days off before their next matches. Sabalenka and Alcaraz started Monday, the former opening day, and top-seeded Alexander Zverev and 2023 champion Coco Gauff are scheduled Tuesday on the final day of a first round that until last year was completed over two days.

“So they’re finding ways to extend the tournaments, which I think is tough for the players,” said Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 runner-up in Flushing Meadows, said she would enjoy the extra day off after her victory Sunday to spend time with her sister, who is in New York with her.

But Shapovalov, a 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist, argued that an extra day between matches doesn’t mean more time off.

“Being off is when you’re at home, able to sleep in your bed and not focus on tennis, right?” he said. “We’re still going to have to come back tomorrow, practice the next two days. You’re still in that match environment, tournament environment where I’m locked in and I’m not doing things that I would be doing when I’m off. You know, having a brownie.”

The expansion to a three-week event set in last year, when along with starting singles play on Sunday, the USTA shifted the mixed doubles tournament to a two-day event on the Tuesday and Wednesday preceding it. That was in hopes that top singles players would compete, which most of them wouldn’t when it was contested once their priority event began.

Another day was added to that this year with a qualifying tournament that was held Monday for the final two spots in the 16-team field. With more real matches beyond the singles qualifying tournaments that take place the week before, and admission to the grounds free, there were huge crowds for what the USTA calls “fan week,” and organizers clearly want more.

“This will become the tennis Disneyland,” Tiley said.

He stressed that doesn’t necessarily mean extending the length of the tournament, but by finding more types of events to do during it.

But extending events is exactly what tennis seems to be doing these days.

It's perhaps felt more at the Masters 1000 level, just below Grand Slams. Those have swelled to 10 days, so long that players have trouble keeping track of time. Tommy Paul was noting how well his fellow Americans performed at the recent ones in Montreal and Cincinnati, reaching the final weekend, when he caught himself.

“I say weekend. I think the finals in Montreal was, like, Wednesday or something,” Paul said.

Close. Ben Shelton won the title on a Thursday.

Some players point to the obvious, that longer tournaments mean shorter time to recover before the next event for those who do well. Frances Tiafoe got to the final in Cincinnati, then had to pull out of the mixed doubles, where he was supposed to partner with Fernandez, for more rest.

“To be honest, speaking in the locker rooms, I don’t think anybody’s a fan of how long the seasons in general are right now, fans of these three-day starts, fans of the 10-day Masters,” Shapovalov said. “You know, I think everything’s just gotten too long.”

Sports

African Players in Europe: Wissa Flick Seals Newcastle Victory

Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - August 29, 2026 Newcastle United's Yoane Wissa celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)

09:03-31 August 2026 AD ـ 18 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

African Players in Europe: Wissa Flick Seals Newcastle Victory

Democratic Republic of Congo striker Yoane Wissa scored with a clever over-the-shoulder flick to seal a 2-0 Premier League win for Newcastle United over Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.

AFP Sport highlights African headline-makers in the major European leagues:

ENGLAND

YOANE WISSA (Newcastle Utd)

Wissa endured a difficult first season with the Magpies, but has made a better start to the new campaign. He impressed in Newcastle's 2-2 draw with Liverpool in their season opener, then bagged the decisive goal in north London.

BRYAN MBEUMO (Manchester Utd)

The Cameroon forward rounded off a resounding 5-2 victory for Michael Carrick's side over promoted Ipswich Town. Mbeumo struck in the 82nd minute at Old Trafford, taking a pass from hat-trick hero Bruno Fernandes and lobbed into the net via the underside of the crossbar. The 27-year-old's first goal this season was the finishing touch on United's maiden win this term after a humiliating loss at Hull.

SPAIN

ADEMOLA LOOKMAN (Atletico Madrid)

Nigeria winger Lookman scored his first goal of the season to help beat Sevilla 3-1. Lookman, who impressed in his first few months at Atletico after joining in the winter transfer window, drilled home at the near post for his side's second goal midway through the first half.

ITALY

HASSANE KAMARA (Udinese)

Kamara struck a long-range shot into the net off the hands of Senegalese goalkeeper Demba Thiam for the second Udinese goal in a 3-2 Serie A victory at Monza. The France-born Ivory Coast midfielder also scored in the opening round last weekend.

GERMANY

SERHOU GUIRASSY (Borussia Dortmund)

Guirassy got his and Dortmund's season off to an excellent start, opening the scoring nine minutes into his side's 2-0 home win over Hamburg. The Guinea international played a clever one-two with new arrival Konstantinos Karetsas before scoring with a low shot across the face of the goal.

CHRISTIAN KOFANE (Bayer Leverkusen)

Kofane scored late as Leverkusen were stunned 3-2 by Bundesliga newcomers Elversberg. With the debutants leading 3-1 in added time, the Cameroon striker knocked in a rebound off the woodwork.

FRANCE

GESSIME YASSINE (Strasbourg)

The 20-year-old Moroccan international scored his first two goals for Strasbourg as they came from behind to beat Lens 2-1 in Ligue 1. Yassine levelled early in the second half through a deflected shot and won the match with a 85th-minute volley.

Sports

Kenin Beats Venus Williams in Late-Night US Open Encounter

Sofia Kenin of the United States returns a shot against Venus Williams of the United States during her Women's Singles First Round match on Day One of the 2026 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 30, 2026 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)

08:24-31 August 2026 AD ـ 18 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Kenin Beats Venus Williams in Late-Night US Open Encounter

American Sofia Kenin beat 46-year-old compatriot Venus Williams 6-2 7-6(6) in a US Open first-round match that began at 12:13 a.m. on Monday, the latest start in women's tournament history.

The match at Arthur Ashe Stadium got underway after Novak Djokovic's five-set defeat by Mariano Navone, with a sizable contingent of fans staying on well past midnight for one more look at Williams, who ‌was playing ‌as a wild card in her ‌96th ⁠career Grand Slam ⁠main draw appearance.

Kenin broke serve in the opening game and never trailed in the first set, racing to a 3-0 lead as both players struggled to find their rhythm, combining for nine double faults.

Williams, cheered on by chants of "Let's go ⁠Venus", broke back to love to ‌trim the deficit to ‌3-1 but dropped serve again as Kenin pulled away ‌to close out the set.

Kenin reeled off three ‌straight games to lead 3-1 in the second set and while Williams showed flashes of the form that earned her seven Grand Slam titles she struggled ‌to string points together, with her second serve proving especially costly.

Kenin saved four ⁠break ⁠points to level at 5-5, leaving Williams screaming in frustration at handing her opponent another game with unforced errors. However, Williams still found a way to hold for 6-5 before Kenin forced a tiebreak.

Williams appeared to have the upper hand in the tiebreak but could not convert any of her seven set points, as Kenin dug in to close out the win.

Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, will next face top-ranked American Jessica Pegula.

Bielsa Takes Responsibility for Uruguay’s Debacle, Says He Left Nothing Good for Uruguayan Football

Most Viewed

The US Open Is Getting Longer as Players Already Worry Tennis Tournaments Are Becoming Too Long

African Players in Europe: Wissa Flick Seals Newcastle Victory

Kenin Beats Venus Williams in Late-Night US Open Encounter

لم تشترك بعد