Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa’s frustration boiled over quickly after the final whistle.
Following a 1-0 group-stage finale loss to Spain Friday night at Estadio Akron in Mexico that eliminated Uruguay from the World Cup, having needed at least a draw to stay alive, Bielsa couldn’t contain his emotions as he was about to do his pitchside interview.
As a journalist paused before his or her question, the 70-year-old coach blew up, screaming “Get on with it!” per News.com.
Sitting at 19th in the FIFA rankings, Uruguay is the highest-ranked team to be eliminated through Friday.
The outburst likely could have been less about being eliminated from the international spectacle and rather more about how Uruguay lost to Spain.
Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera dove to stop Alex Baena’s shot during the 42nd minute, yet despite hitting both hands against the ball, it was only a mere swat that helped the ball roll into his own net to give Spain their sole match-winning goal.
Muslera screamed frustrations on the pitch after the blunder and took himself off at halftime.
Bielsa confirmed after the match that Muslera asked to come off the pitch.
He was replaced with Sergio Rochet.
“No, I didn’t take [the decision],” Bielsa said. “It’s a decision Muslera took himself.”
Uruguay finished the World Cup with only two points in three games. The team entered the Spain match follow draws against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde.
Spain advanced as the Group H winners, while Cape Verde finished second to move on to the knockout round in a historic accomplishment.
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Bielsa believed his team should have earned seven points, but shouldered the responsibility for Uruguay’s failure.
“You don’t want explanations, and this is why you’re not asking for an answer, but are rather blaming me for the outcome,” Bielsa said after Friday’s loss. “And that reflects the work that I did, and it is okay that it is like that right now. But if I have to analyze what happened, I would include the mistakes, because mistakes happen in football.
“There were mistakes, and we still did not manage to have an acceptable ratio between this, the goals that we attempted, and the goals we scored, and the ratio of goals that we conceded.”
The early exit is a poor end to what has been a tough three years for Bielsa, winning only 15 of 38 matches at the helm of the national team.