MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay - Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde and Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo have arrived in Montevideo to join Uruguay's national team training at the Complejo Celeste. Under the direction of coach Marcelo Bielsa, the team is gearing up for their matches against Argentina and Bolivia in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

Although the Uruguayan Football Association has not yet released the full list of called-up players, social media posts have revealed several footballers who have already joined the squad in Uruguay. Alongside Valverde and Araujo, Nicolás de la Cruz from River Plate, PSG’s Manuel Ugarte, Napoli’s Mathías Olivera, and Orlando City’s Facundo Torres have also begun training with the team.

The team was further bolstered over the weekend with the arrival of Flamengo players Guillermo Varela and Giorgian de Arrascaeta, Tottenham's Rodrigo Bentancur, Internacional’s goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, Sassolo’s Matías Viña, Junior’s Santiago Mele, and Toluca’s Maximiliano Araujo.

Uruguay is set to face Argentina at the iconic 'La Bombonera' stadium, home of Boca Juniors, this Thursday at 9:00 PM local time (12:00 AM GMT) for the fifth round of the qualifiers. The squad will travel to Buenos Aires a day earlier on a chartered flight and stay at a central hotel in the Argentine capital.

The team then hosts Bolivia at Montevideo's historic Centenario Stadium on November 21st at 8:30 PM local time (11:30 PM GMT) for the sixth round. After the first four rounds of the qualifiers, Uruguay stands second in the standings with seven points out of a possible twelve, trailing behind Argentina who leads with a perfect score from their four matches.