The Uruguay national team arrived in Miami late on Sunday after a travel ordeal ahead of its opening World Cup match against Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Uruguay pinned the blame on Fifa for their troubles flying from Mexico to Miami, yet they reportedly faced the threat of sanction if their head coach and captain could not make it to a mandatory press conference Sunday.
The original flight reportedly was not allowed to depart due to administrative issues, including some missing paperwork, and officials had to scramble to line up a new flight.
The Athletic reported that a member of the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) said Fifa was responsible for the traveling snafu. Fifa is in charge of all travel related to the 48-team World Cup.
Uruguay is training in Playa del Carmen, Mexico and held a practice on Sunday. When the traveling delegation reached the airport in Cancun, approximately 45 miles away, they learned the group was not authorised to enter the United States.
The AUF said that a second plane from South Florida was en route to pick up the squad, while players waited at a resort outside Cancun until its arrival.
"Due to problems beyond the control of the AUF, the departure from Mexico has been delayed," the AUF said in a statement. "The squad is resting at the hotel. The new departure time set by Fifa is 4.15 pm."
Fifa later released a statement to the Daily Mail and other outlets.
"Due to an airline permitting error in Mexico, the Uruguay national team's departure from Cancun to Miami was delayed," the statement said. "The airline has apologised for the inconvenience caused. FIFA remained in close contact with the Uruguay national team throughout their delay and worked alongside airport and operational partners to help expedite the process and minimize disruption to the team's travel arrangements."
Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa and team captain Jose Maria Gimenez missed Sunday's originally scheduled press conference in South Florida due to the issue. The team's press conference was pushed back to 8 p.m. ET, and the coach and captain were in attendance.
"The trip went well, we made the most of it and saw it in a positive light," Gimenez said in Spanish. "We took the chance to rest at the hotel (in Cancun)."
Bielsa was asked what sort of disruption the flight snafu caused his team.
"No, the flight doesn't cause any complications," Bielsa said in Spanish before changing the subject to his team's preparation in both the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo and Playa del Carmen.
"In Montevideo, the players had constant obligations, but they also had family time, which I felt was necessary."
Uruguay and Saudi Arabia will play their first match of Group H at Miami Gardens, Fla. The other members of the group, Spain and Cape Verde, will play Monday in Atlanta.
The match between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia is slated for 6 p.m. ET, giving them less than 24 hours to settle in before kickoff.
Bielsa defends Uruguay medical protocols after injury concerns
Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa said on Sunday his medical staff had followed all the proper protocols in managing players' recovery from injury after several key squad members were sidelined ahead of the World Cup.
With Uruguay set to open their World Cup campaign against Saudi Arabia on Monday, Bielsa defended his medical team's approach after defender Ronald Araujo suffered a muscle tear during training to join Jose Maria Gimenez and Giorgian de Arrascaeta on the injury list.
Barcelona's Araujo also suffered an injury ahead of the 2022 World Cup and while he made the squad he did not play in the tournament in Qatar, where Uruguay made a group-stage exit.
"Araujo arrived with a muscle problem which wasn't serious. He had no serious muscle problems in the last six months at Barcelona. He also suffered a muscle tear," Bielsa told reporters.
"My conclusion is the same. If the player gets injured in training, something is wrong. But Araujo works with a group he trusts a lot and no decisions were made without reaching a consensus with them and Araujo himself.
"We feel responsible, but we couldn't have done anything differently."
Bielsa also compared the injury situations of Gimenez and Arrascaeta, who are recovering from ankle and calf injuries, respectively.
"Gimenez had an ankle problem and joined training a week later because the people who monitored his entire recovery are used to working with him and he trusts them a lot," Bielsa said.
"Finally, he's been with us for 15 days now and he has healed."
Bielsa said Arrascaeta was closely supported throughout camp despite a muscle injury, with staff taking responsibility while ensuring all decisions were made with his input, adding that every session was agreed upon between Uruguay, the player's team and his club Flamengo.
"A muscle tear during recovery and preparation must necessarily be interpreted as a mistake," Bielsa said.
"Regarding whether we didn't take all the necessary measures to prevent it, we took absolutely all the necessary measures."
For the game against the Saudis, the Argentine tactician said there would be no changes to the open, possession-based approach that has become his trademark.
"The way we play is no secret. We try to have possession of the ball, we try to go forward and attack with many players," he said.
"We try to play on the other side of the pitch and recover the ball quickly. And also to have a good relationship between possession and dangerous situations that we create."