he 

Uruguay national football team has won the FIFA World Cup on two occasions. Uruguay won
the inaugural tournament on home soil in 1930 and again in 1950, famously defeating home
favourites Brazil in the final match.[148] Uruguay has won the Copa América (an international
tournament for South American nations and guests) more than any other country, their victory in
2011 making a total of 15 Copa Américas won. Uruguay has by far the smallest population of any
country that has won a World Cup.[148] Despite their early success, they missed three World Cups
in four attempts from 1994 to 2006.[148] Uruguay performed very creditably in the 2010 FIFA World
Cup, having reached the semi-final for the first time in 40 years. Diego Forlán was presented with
the Golden Ball award as the best player of the 2010 tournament.[149] In the rankings for June
2012, Uruguay were ranked the second best team in the world, according to the FIFA world
rankings, their highest ever point in football history, falling short of the first spot to the Spain
national football team.[150]
Uruguay exported 1,414 football players during the 2000s, almost as many players as Brazil and
Argentina.[151] In 2010, the Uruguayan government enacted measures intended to retain players in
the country.[151]
Football was taken to Uruguay by English sailors and labourers in the late 19th century. Less
successfully, they introduced rugby and cricket. There are two Montevideo-based football
clubs, Nacional and Peñarol, who are successful in domestic and South American tournaments
and have won three Intercontinental Cups each.
Besides football, the most popular sport in Uruguay is basketball.[152] Its national team qualified for
the Basketball World Cup 7 times, more often than other countries in South America,
except Brazil and Argentina. Uruguay hosted the official Basketball World Cup for the 1967 FIBA
World Championship and the official Americas Basketball Championship in 1988, 1997 and is a
host of the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup.

See also[edit]
 Uruguay portal

 Latin America portal

 Outline of Uruguay
 Index of Uruguay-related articles

Notes[edit]
1. ^ Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay

1. ^ Bell Ville, Buenos Aires, Concepción del Uruguay, Concordia, Entre

Ríos, Córdoba, Gualeguaychú, Mendoza, Paraná, Rio Cuarto, Rosario, San Francisco, San
Luis, Santa Fe, Tigre, Venado Tuerto, Villa María, and Villa Mercedes.
2. ^ Although Santana has open borders with Rivera, it's a different jurisdiction.
3. ^ namely Camboriú, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Jaguarão, Joinville, Pelotas, Porto
Alegre, Quara