Inter Miami’s striker Luis Suarez is saying goodbye to Uruguay’s national team after 17 years. Suarez announced his intention to retire from the international stage during an emotional press conference on Monday.
Suarez will play one last game with the national team on Friday when Uruguay is scheduled to play Paraguay in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers at the legendary Estadio Centenario in Montevideo.
“I’ve been thinking about this and analyzing this. I believe this is the right time,” Suarez said while holding back tears. “I want to be relaxed when I play my last game with the national team. I’ll be just as excited to play as I was in 2007 when I played for my national team for the first time. That 19-year-old kid is now a veteran player, an older player — however, you want to call it — with an incredible history with the national team and will give his life for the team on Friday.”
Suarez made his debut for Uruguay’s senior team in 2007 as a 20-year-old. Since then, he earned a total of 142 appearances while scoring 69 goals and becoming the nation’s all-time leading scorer.
During his time with Uruguay, Suarez made appearances at four World Cups and played an integral part in the country’s run to the 2010 World Cup semi-finals. In the final seconds of the quarterfinal matchup against Ghana, Suarez saved a game-deciding goal by stopping the ball at the goal line with his hand. Ghana was awarded a penalty but failed to convert it, and later lost the game due to penalty shootouts.
Suarez was also featured in five Copa America tournaments. He helped Uruguay win the 2011 Copa America and led them to third place in 2024.
