The champions were not allowed into the US! FIFA washes its hands of the scandal
Uruguay national team players had huge problems with entering the United States. The two-time world champions (1930 and 1950) were denied entry just before their match.
This is not the first such situation during the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026. This time, organizational confusion affected the Uruguay national team. The country’s players are to inaugurate the World Cup competition on the night from Monday to Tuesday (June 15-16), playing against Saudi Arabia at midnight.
Match venue? United States, Florida, Miami. As it turned out, getting there… was not that easy for the team from South America.
Uruguay with big problems! Another scandal at the FIFA World Cup
The news about problems with entry into the USA appeared several hours before the start of the match. The Uruguayan Football Association blamed the problems on FIFA. What does the world federation say about this? FIFA does not feel guilty pointing out the mistakes made by the airlines operating the flight of the Uruguayan team from Cancun, Mexico, to Miami.
Why weren’t Uruguayans allowed into the US? The delegation allegedly did not have full documentation needed to enter the United States. The new flight with the Uruguayans on board took off only after a few hours.
The delay in getting there (Uruguay eventually found itself in the US after problems) also has other consequences.
– Given the chaos between the Federation and FIFA, coach Marcelo Bielsa’s press conference may be canceled (which will result in a financial penalty). One question: How is it possible that no one noticed BEFORE there was a problem? – asks journalist Romain Molina on the X platform.
One may get the distinct impression that the USA is not behaving as befits a country organizing an event like the FIFA World Cup. The multiplying problems and the steadfastness of the hosts mean that there may, unfortunately, be even more such surprising situations later in the tournament.
World Cup 2026. Where and when to watch the greatest football World Cup in history?
From June 11 to July 19, the 23rd FIFA World Cup will be held on pitches in three countries – the United States, Mexico and Canada. An event that will certainly be unique, if only because of its format. For the first time in history, as many as 48 teams will take part in the main tournament.
The title from four years ago is defended by the Argentines. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Lionel Messi and company defeated the French in the final, winning after a series of penalties (4:2). In the history of football World Cups, Brazil has the most titles – as many as five. Four victories in the history of the World Championships belong to the Italians and Germans. The Argentines won three times. More than once, the trophy for winning the World Cup was raised – twice – by the players of France and Uruguay. The Polish national team was third twice at the World Championships, but those were the old days – we are talking about the events in 1974 and 1982. At the last World Cup, Poles managed to advance to the knockout phase, but were eliminated in the 1/8 finals by the French (1:3).
Poles will not be at the World Cup for the first time since 2014. Coach Jan Urban’s team was one step away from promotion, but lost the away match against the Swedes in the final of the UEFA play-off zone (2-3), thus dashing their hopes of advancing to the most important football event of the last four years.
Matches of the 2026 World Cup can only be watched on Polish Television – on TVP Sport, TVP 1 and TVP 2 and on tvpsport.pl. Additionally, broadcasts will be available in the TVP Sport mobile application and smart TV.
