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While few countries posses the soccer history of Uruguay, this nation with a population of just over three million stills brags of an impressive collection of world, Olympic, and continental titles to go along with a record which ranks them favorably amongst the very best in the world. However, those glory years of soccer are but a fading memory for Uruguay, with La Celeste making only two appearances out of the previous five FIFA World Cup finals tournaments.

The man who is now responsible for improving Uruguay, and raising the club back to the upper ranks of the football world, is Oscar Tabarez. Now in his second tour as Uruguayan national coach, Tabarez, after having taken La Celeste through to the Round of 16 at Italy 1990, seems to have the resources to return Uruguay to World Cup prominence once again. Speckled with players from Europe's top leagues, this young squad is determined to impress the world in South Africa, and with strikers such as Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez they certainly have the talent to advance outside their group and into the knockout rounds for the first time in twenty years.

Just as in 2001 and 2005, Uruguay came in fifth in the ten-team qualifying group, meaning yet another play-off. But, unlike four years ago when they were eliminated by Australia, La Celeste was this time matched against Costa Rica, the fourth-place team in the CONCACAF Zone. The Uruguayans grabbed the upper hand during the first leg in San Jose, winning 1-0 with a goal from captain Diego Lugano, and four days later the South Americans finished the job in Montevideo, with Sebastian Abreu, one of the few players remaining from Korea/Japan 2002, scoring in the 1-1 draw. In the group phase Uruguay scored a total of 28 goals, the third-highest behind Brazil and Chile, and collected 24 points. Those numbers were nearly good enough for an automatic qualification bid, and a top-four finish would have been theirs had they beaten neighboring Argentina at home on the final day, but as it turned out, their rivals across the River Plate took the 1-0 victory, resulting in a fate which has become all to customary.

Team Uruguay features a mix of youthful players and regular names, but led by their authoritative captain, defender Diego Lugano. As the latest in a long line of imposing, yet temperamental, Uruguayan captains, Lugano prefers to combine his defensive responsibilities with journeys into the opposing penalty box – often with profitable results for Uruguay's side of the scoreboard.