La Celeste remains a two-time world champion by FIFA’s count, but their crest still features four stars. Spain tied their tally after beating Argentina 1-0 in the 2026 World Cup final across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Ferrán Torres’ 46th-minute extra-time strike sealed the title for La Roja, now level with Uruguay at two World Cups. Last result: Uruguay 0-1 Spain (2026-06-27).
Why Spain matched Uruguay’s World Cup tally
Spain closed their title run with a tight extra-time win, a script they’d already lived in 2010. With two World Cups on the shelf -2010 and 2026- La Roja now sits level with Uruguay, whose only FIFA-recognized triumphs are 1930 and 1950. The debate, however, refuses to die in Montevideo. Uruguay’s federation still argues the 1924 and 1928 Olympic titles should count, since those were the top football events of their era.
FIFA’s stance and Uruguay’s four-star crest
FIFA made it plain in 2021: only the 1930 and 1950 World Cups count. That year PUMA, Uruguay’s kit supplier at Qatar 2022, told the AUF it must remove two of the four stars at FIFA’s request. The reply was swift: the shirt kept all four, and the trophy debate flared anew when Spain drew level.
Where Uruguay stands in the all-time table
Brazil tops the list with five titles (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002), followed by Germany and Italy with four each. Argentina has three -1978, 1986 and 2022- while France and Spain round out the two-time winners. Uruguay, with its two recognized World Cups, shares the spot with one-time champs like England, whose solitary triumph came in 1966.
Uruguay’s path at the 2026 World Cup
La Celeste arrived with a recent record of zero wins, four draws and one loss in their last five outings (LDDDD). Their most recent match ended 0-1 to Spain on June 27, 2026, a result that underlined their struggles to break deadlocks in the group. Now, with eyes on the 2030 World Cup draw, the question is blunt: can Uruguay chase a third star in the next cycle?
