Uruguay vs India: No room for Suarez return but Forlan names strong squad

The speculation over Luis Suárez, 39, making a comeback to the national team may have been a non-starter, but Uruguay coach Diego Forlán on Friday named a power-packed 46-man provisional squad for the team’s Asia tour in September-October, which includes a friendly against India on 6 October.

The match will be played in Kolkata, three days after India’s marquee encounter against Brazil at the same venue on 3 October.

The squad, announced by the Uruguayan Football Association on social media, includes 21 players from the 26-member squad that represented Uruguay at the 2026 World Cup. Among the star names are midfielder Federico Valverde of Real Madrid, Ronald Araújo, Rodrigo Bentancur of Tottenham Hotspur and Darwin Núñez. Nahitan Nández and former Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira return to the squad, while naturalised defender Alexander Barboza has also been called up.

Suárez, however, does not figure in Forlán’s first provisional list. The Inter Miami striker, who has not played for Uruguay since 2024, had been the subject of speculation about a return under Forlán, with whom he shared some of the defining moments of Uruguay’s recent football history.

Forlán and Suárez were part of the Uruguay side that reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and went on to win the Copa América in 2011. But with Suárez set to be 41 when the next Copa América is held in 2028, a return appears increasingly unlikely.

The presence of Forlán in the dugout will be of particular interest to Kolkata fans. The 2010 World Cup Golden Ball winner and one of Uruguay’s most celebrated players, Forlán also has a connection with Indian football, having played briefly for Mumbai City FC in the inaugural years of the Indian Super League.

Forlán, who won 112 caps for Uruguay between 2002 and 2014 and scored 36 goals, returned to the national setup in August, taking charge of both the senior team and the under-20 side. His first senior-team assignment will come during the September-October FIFA window, with Uruguay scheduled to face Japan on 24 September, South Korea on 28 September and India on 6 October.

The India match will mark Forlán’s return to the country a decade after his brief ISL stint with Mumbai City in 2016. For Indian fans, meanwhile, it will be the third high-profile international in an unprecedented 11-day run, following Panama in Bengaluru on 26 September and Brazil in Kolkata on 3 October.

Meanwhile, informed sources among the organisers said around 10,000 ‘early bird’ tickets for the India-Brazil game, released online by ticket partner District by Zomato, have been sold out.

"The next lot will likely be released once Brazil announce their squad on 9 September (late evening IST). Meanwhile, the online tickets for the Panama game in Bengaluru are likely to go on sale from Sunday after the AIFF press conference there today," sources said.

Tickets for the India-Uruguay game are expected to be substantially cheaper than those for the Brazil match, which have been priced at a premium. However, sales for the Uruguay game are likely to begin only after the tickets for the 3 October Brazil fixture have sold out.

URUGUAY’S PROVISIONAL SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Santiago Mele, Cristopher Fiermarín, Ignacio de Arruabarrena, Sebastián Jaume, Thiago Cardozo.

Defenders: Kevin Amaro, José Luis Rodríguez, Guillermo Varela, Nahitan Nández, Santiago Mouriño, Nicolás Marichal, Ronald Araújo, Alexander Barboza, José María Giménez, Juan Rodríguez, Sebastián Boselli, Santiago Bueno, Sebastián Cáceres, Mathías Olivera, Joaquín Piquerez, Lucas Olaza, Marcelo Saracchi, Juan Manuel Sanabria.

Midfielders: Emiliano Martínez, Lucas Torreira, Rodrigo Bentancur, Facundo Bernal, Santiago Homenchenko, Federico Valverde, Agustín Canobbio, Matías Abaldo, Facundo Pellistri, Luciano Rodríguez, Maximiliano Araújo, Lucas Villalba, Brian Rodríguez, Rodrigo Zalazar, Diego Rossi, Giorgian de Arrascaeta.

Forwards: Martín Satriano, Agustín A. Martínez, Rodrigo Aguirre, Federico Viñas, Miguel Merentiel, Darwin Núñez, Álvaro Rodríguez.