Inter Miami’s Luis Suarez Makes Late World Cup Plea—Could He Be Called Up?

Uruguay’s all-time leading goalscorer wants to make a fifth World Cup appearance.

Luis Suárez is currently experiencing a resurgence at Inter Miami. | Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images

With less than 40 days to 2026 FIFA World Cup kickoff, Luis Suárez has made a last-minute plea to be included.

The 39-year-old striker, who is Uruguay’s all-time leading goalscorer with 69 in 143 total appearances, competed for La Celeste for 17 years—spanning the four previous World Cups (2010, 2014. 2018, 2022), before announcing his retirement from international play in September 2024, a door he has since regretted closing.

“I wanted to be called up,” the now-Inter Miami star told reporters in Spanish on Wednesday.

“Obviously, being Uruguayan, I would never turn down the national team,” he added. “I stepped aside back then because I felt I needed to make way for the younger generation ... As I’ve said before, I would never say no to the national team if they needed me—especially with a World Cup just around the corner.”

This marks Suárez’s second plea for a World Cup spot in recent time, after he made it clear last month that he wanted to reopen the conversation.

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Would Uruguay Actually Roster Suárez?

Suárez has four World Cups under his belt. | FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

Suárez hasn’t played for Uruguay since Sept. 2024, in which he featured in a goalless draw against Paraguay.

“I’m 37 years old and it’d be a huge struggle for me to make it to the next World Cup, as there are so many talented up-and-coming players,” Suárez said at the time of his retirement. “The fact that I’m able to call time on my international career and not have it decided for me by injuries is a great feeling for me.”

It’s not surprising that Suárez wants to turn back the clock, especially given his recent club resurgence and current bill of health, and it’s not unfathomable that Uruguay’s manager Marcelo Bielsa could let him do it.

Suárez tallied 10 goals and 11 assists last season as a starter for Inter Miami, but opened the 2026 season rooted to the bench, in the shadows of $15 million transfer of Germán Berterame. Yet while Berterame struggled to find his footing, Suárez prevailed, once again proving himself integral to the Herons’ operation.

Suárez has experienced a resurgence this season. | Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

The seasoned striker has notched two goals and two assists across 303 minutes of MLS play, averaging a goal contribution every 75 minutes. He has since been reintegrated into the starting lineup, becoming a more favorable option for interim manager Guillermo Hoyos, who took over following Javier Mascherano’s sudden departure last month.

Suárez also has a long history of success on soccer’s grandest stage, meaning the experience and veteran leadership he would bring to Uruguay’s relatively unproven World Cup squad cannot be understated.

He has bagged seven total goals in World Cup action, including a brace against Korea Republic in the round of 16 of the 2010 South Africa tournament that singlehandedly took Uruguay to the quarterfinals. In the subsequent match, he infamously palmed the ball in order to deny Ghana a late winner, inevitably helping La Celeste advance to the semifinals.

Uruguay has also struggled in Suárez’s absence to find a consistent starter at the No. 9 position. In the 17 international matches without him, Bielsa has shifted primarily between Darwin Núñez, Rodrigo Aguirre, Federico Viñas and Luciano Rodríguez, none of whom have been able to match Suárez’s impressive output from years past.

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