Darwin Nunez has broken his silence on social media after Uruguay were dealt a blow to their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup. Despite his best efforts over the international break, Marcelo Bielsa’s side were defeated 1-0 by Peru before being held to a goalless draw by Ecuador a few days later.
The 25-year-old striker started each of the qualifiers, but he couldn’t fire his country to victory. Meanwhile, Colombia stormed past Chile, so Uruguay have dropped to third in the World Cup CONMEBOL qualifying table, with only a one goal difference separating them from Brazil in fourth.
After a disappointing pair of results, Nunez issued a statement on Instagram, which quickly chalked up over 150,000 likes. The Liverpool ace outlined three things that he and his teammates must do to improve.
“Self criticism, union and work. We’ll try again, Uruguay first always,” wrote Nunez. Bielsa was subject to criticism from Luis Suarez earlier this month as Uruguay struggled to impress.
The Liverpool legend, who retired from international football in September, claimed the former Leeds United boss had ‘divided the whole group’ and that some players were considering quitting.
In an interview with Latin American television channel DSports, as quoted by the BBC, Suarez pleaded with supporters to not take their anger out on the players. The Inter Miami star said: “During Copa América there were situations that hurt me but I had to stay quiet for respect to the national team.
“A lot of the senior players on the team held a meeting with the manager to ask him to at least say good morning, he wouldn’t even say hello. Players are going to reach a limit and they are going to explode.
“There were players that during Copa América were saying that they would play the tournament and then they’d stop playing (for Uruguay),” added Suarez. “I ask for people to not to take it out on players if things don’t go well. Bielsa has separated the entire group even in the way they train.
Following Uruguay’s defeat to Peru on Saturday, Bielsa finally addressed Suarez’s claims. He said: “As for how the situation affected me, I don’t ignore what happened, and I know that my authority was affected in some way.
“What happened during the week does not condition or explain how we played, nor do I think it has had an effect because it was a week with a lot of effervescence.
“It didn’t alter the conviction with which the match was prepared and the way the group and the coaching staff worked. The preparation was the same as always.”
