look news india
New Delhi, September 3 (HS). Uruguay striker Luis Suarez announced his retirement from international football on Monday, ending his 17-year career with his national team as the top scorer with 69 goals.
The 37-year-old, who has played 142 matches for his country, made his international debut in 2007 and played a key role in the team that reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and won the Copa America a year later.
“Friday will be my last game with my country's national team,” an emotional Suarez said in a press conference.
“The fact that I decided to retire and I didn’t retire because of injuries or they stopped calling me for one thing gives me a lot of comfort, it helps me personally. It’s difficult, but it gives me peace of mind that until the last game I gave my all, and that flame isn’t slowly dying out,” the striker said.
Uruguay take on Paraguay at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo on Friday in a South American qualifier for the 2026 World Cup, before facing Venezuela four days later.
Suarez scored a stoppage-time goal against Canada that finished third at the Copa America in July and the striker said one of his goals was to show he could continue to contribute to the national team.
He said, “I had a dream that my kids would see me win some important matches with the national team… That last goal was great for them and even though it wasn’t a trophy to take home, it was great for them. I wanted to show people again that I can continue contributing to the national team and, well, I had the Copa America and yes, I could have totally done it (retired) after that, but after analysing the situation, I want to do it with my people, in my stadium. I want my kids to live this experience.”
“Saying goodbye to the people here is something I don’t know if many have done,” he said.
Suarez has already said Inter Miami will be his last club, where he joined Major League Soccer last year and will be reunited with his former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.