"The flame of football has dimmed a little." That's Luis Suárez talking about life since retiring from international football in September 2024 — and it's also the clearest signal yet that he's thinking about unretiring for the 2026 World Cup.
The 38-year-old Inter Miami striker — Uruguay's all-time top scorer with 69 goals in 143 appearances — walked away from La Celeste after a goalless draw against Paraguay, leaving on his own terms with an emotional ceremony at the Estadio Centenario. That was seven months ago. Now, with the World Cup kicking off on North American soil in June, the door is creaking back open.
"If they need me, I will never say no to the national team," Suárez told Uruguayan publication Diario Ovación. "That is impossible — as long as I am still playing, as long as I remain active."
The geography makes it almost too convenient
Uruguay land in Group H alongside Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Cape Verde. Their opening two matches — against Saudi Arabia on June 15 and Cape Verde on June 21 — are both played in Miami. Where Suárez lives. Where he trains. The logistics argument for leaving him out has essentially vanished.
Marcelo Bielsa's side are ranked 17th in the world and face a genuine test in Spain, who are among the favorites to lift the trophy. Whether a 39-year-old Suárez fits Bielsa's system is a real question. But as a late substitute, a dead-ball threat, a player who understands the weight of a World Cup moment better than almost anyone alive? That conversation is worth having.
His club form is backing him up
The easy counterargument to a Suárez comeback is that he's a bench player at Inter Miami now, demoted after the club spent $15 million on Germán Berterame in January. But Berterame is still goalless. Suárez came off the bench against Austin FC on Saturday, scored in the 82nd minute to salvage a 2-2 draw at the new Nu Stadium, and nearly had a winner in the 90th before being flagged offside off a Messi free kick.
Manager Javier Mascherano didn't hide his assessment: "I thought Luis looked excellent; he played a key role in securing the equalizer." With Berterame benched for two straight games now, Suárez may be working his way back into the starting XI before the World Cup conversation even reaches its conclusion.
- Suárez has 69 goals in 143 Uruguay appearances — the country's all-time record
- He has featured at four World Cups: 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022
- Uruguay's first two group games are in Miami on June 15 and June 21
- Suárez tallied 10 goals and 11 assists for Inter Miami last season as a starter
If Uruguay call him up, Suárez as a super-sub changes their knockout-round calculus considerably — and any odds on La Celeste progressing past the group stage deserve a second look. A player who knows how to score in the biggest moments, available off the bench, on familiar turf, motivated by the prospect of a fifth World Cup at 39. Bielsa would have to have a very good reason to say no.
"You always dreamed of always being on the national team," Suárez said. "Since I left, the flame of football has dimmed a little." That quote does a lot of work. It's not quite a comeback announcement. But it's not nothing either.
