Luis Suarez has announced his availability for Uruguay’s national team as the World Cup approaches, more than 18 months after he initially stepped away from international football.
The 39-year-old, who is Uruguay’s all-time leading scorer with 69 goals in 143 matches, hasn’t appeared for his country since September 2024. At that time, he declared it was the “right moment” to end his 17-year international career.
The following month, the Inter Miami striker expressed feeling “hurt” by the culture fostered under Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa, warning that “players will reach a limit and explode.” Since then, Suarez remained absent from the squad but now says he is open to a return, having already apologized to those he felt necessary.
“I would never say no to the national team if they need me, especially with a World Cup coming up,” Suarez told reporters this week, as reported by the EFE news agency. “At the time, I stepped aside to make way for the younger generation. I said something I shouldn’t have said. I have already apologized to those I needed to apologize to.”
The former Liverpool, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid striker extended his contract with Inter Miami in December for another season and has netted two goals in eight appearances this campaign.
“I still have that adrenaline, that desire to keep playing,” Suarez said of his future. “You realize you still have a little bit of life left in you. You get the urge to keep competing. You can see it on the pitch when you still get angry about losses and bad passes, and you still enjoy it when you score goals.”
Suarez’s international retirement in 2024 followed that of Edinson Cavani, who scored 58 goals for his country, two years earlier. In Uruguay’s current squad, Darwin Nunez leads with 13 goals.
Suarez’s Storied Uruguay Career
Suarez represented Uruguay in nine major tournaments and was part of their 2011 Copa America-winning team. He scored four times in that competition, including two in the semifinals and one in the final, earning Player of the Tournament honors as Uruguay claimed their 15th title and first since 1995.
At the 2010 World Cup, he scored three goals in six appearances, including both goals in Uruguay’s 2-1 round-of-16 victory over South Korea. He was sent off in the quarterfinal against Ghana after using his hand to block Dominic Adiyiah’s goal-bound effort in the final minute of extra time, a move that likely prevented elimination. Asamoah Gyan missed the subsequent penalty, and Uruguay advanced on spot kicks to reach the World Cup semifinals for the first time since 1970.
After scoring both goals in Uruguay’s 2014 World Cup group-stage win over England, Suarez bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in the final group game, earning a nine-match international ban that kept him out of the rest of the tournament and the 2015 Copa America. It was the third biting incident of his career, following suspensions for biting Otman Bakkal at Ajax and Branislav Ivanovic at Liverpool.
The forward returned to help Uruguay qualify for the 2018 World Cup, scoring twice in Russia as his side reached the quarterfinals. Suarez then appeared in four more major tournaments: the 2022 World Cup and the 2019, 2021, and 2024 Copa America. At this summer’s tournament, he was mostly limited to substitute cameos under Marcelo Bielsa, making four appearances from the bench.
