Spain’s win over Uruguay has sent Marcelo Bielsa’s side out of World Cup 2026 and means that Ronald Araujo is the first Barcelona player to be eliminated from the tournament.
Araujo will depart the World Cup without playing a single minute for Uruguay. The defender sustained an injury in training before the start of the tournament and simply didn’t recover in time to feature.
The defender has now been to two World Cups but is yet to feature at all. He was also part of the squad in Qatar in 2022 but,
once again, injury meant that he didn’t see any game time.
Araujo’s brother was critical of Uruguay after the Barcelona star was sidelined ahead of the start of the tournament in what’s been a difficult World Cup for Bielsa’s men.
Uruguay managed just two points and scored only three goals in three games, finishing behind Cape Verde in the standings in Group G.
There were also rumors of unrest in the camp ahead of the Spain game, with players reportedly unhappy with Bielsa’s training methods and tactics.
Uruguay’s early exit ends what’s been a difficult campain for Araujo. He took a mental health break from Barcelona mid-way through the season before returning to action but only played a bit-part role in the final weeks of the campaign.
