Luis Suárez has hinted at a stunning return to international football, leaving the door wide open for a potential World Cup comeback with Uruguay. The 39-year-old striker, who stepped away from national team duty in September 2024 following a public fallout with head coach Marcelo Bielsa, now says he "would never say no" if his country calls.
"I would never say no to the national team if they need me, especially with a World Cup coming up," Suárez told reporters, as quoted by Spain's EFE news agency. "At the time, I stepped aside to make way for the younger generation. I said something I shouldn't have said. I have already apologized to those I needed to apologize to."
Suárez's initial departure came after he publicly criticized Bielsa for allegedly creating division within the squad. The former Barcelona and Liverpool star—Uruguay's all-time leading scorer with 69 goals in 143 appearances—has since spent 19 months away from the international scene. But now, with the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, the fire appears to be rekindled.
"You realize you still have a little bit of life left in you. You get the urge to keep competing," Suárez added. "You can see it on the pitch when you still get angry about the losses and the bad passes, and you still enjoy it when you score goals."
Suárez's World Cup legacy is nothing short of legendary—and controversial. He made his tournament debut in 2010, famously stopping a Ghana goal with his hand in the quarter-finals, and was later banned for four months after biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini in 2014. Now playing for Inter Miami in MLS, he's shown he still has the hunger to compete at the highest level.
The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, the United States, and Mexico, runs from June 11 to July 19. Uruguay, who finished fourth in South American qualifying, will kick off their campaign against Saudi Arabia in Miami on June 15, with Group H also featuring Cape Verde and Spain. For Bielsa—who previously coached Argentina in 2002 and Chile in 2010—this will be his third World Cup as a head coach.
Whether Suárez will don the sky blue jersey one more time remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the legend isn't ready to write his final chapter just yet.