Luis Suárez has been called up to Uruguay's squad for the first time under coach Marcelo Bielsa, which will give him the opportunity to face his Argentine friend Lionel Messi in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. Following his impressive performance with his current team, Grêmio Porto Alegre in Brazil, where he has scored 14 goals in the league this season and 26 in all competitions, the former Barcelona forward has been summoned to the Uruguayan national team for the first time since the Qatar World Cup at the end of last year. The 36-year-old has the chance to increase his record for international goals with his country (68 goals).
The Uruguayan national team, which appointed Argentine coach Bielsa last May, will visit world champions Argentina next Thursday in Buenos Aires for a highly anticipated match between Suárez and his former Barcelona teammate and friend Messi (also 36 years old), before hosting Bolivia next week in Montevideo. Uruguay is performing well in the qualifiers under Bielsa, currently sitting in second place in the South American group with seven points from four games, five points behind Argentina, who are at the top with a perfect record and goals ahead of Brazil and Venezuela.
Unlike Suárez, his veteran strike partner Edinson Cavani (36 years old and the second top scorer for the Uruguayan national team with 58 goals) will not be part of the squad after suffering an injury last weekend with his team Boca Juniors in Argentina.
