Juan Manuel Sanabria Joins Uruguay For June 15 World Cup Opener
juan manuel sanabria will play for Uruguay against Saudi Arabia in the 2026 FIFA World Cup opener on Monday, June 15, 2026. Marco Bielsa named the Real Salt Lake midfielder to the squad two weeks before kickoff, and Uruguay opens Group H in Miami at 4:00 p.m. MT.
Sanabria’s Miami assignment
Sanabria, 26, arrives at the tournament after leading Real Salt Lake with six assists in 11 games in the 2026 MLS campaign. He was born on March 29, 2000, and joined Real Salt Lake in late January on a permanent transfer from Atlético San Luis that covers the 2026 and 2027-28 Major League Soccer seasons, with a club option for 2028-29.
The World Cup call-up gives him a place in Uruguay’s opening match against Saudi Arabia, and it extends Real Salt Lake’s run of having players feature at the tournament. For a first-year MLS starter who has already turned into the club’s most productive passer, the roster spot also puts him in a wider role than the one he has held since arriving from Mexico.
Uruguay’s Group H path
Uruguay is ranked 17th in FIFA’s standings and enters the 48-team tournament with Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde and Spain in Group H. The schedule tightens quickly after the opener: Uruguay is set to face Cape Verde on Sunday, June 21, 2026, in Miami, then Spain on Friday, June 26, 2026, in Guadalajara, Mexico.
That sequence leaves little margin for a slow start, especially with Uruguay based this summer in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Sanabria has already made the transition from club duty to national-team work, departing in late May from Minnesota to Uruguay’s training camp in Montevideo before joining Bielsa’s squad for the final stretch toward Miami.
Real Salt Lake and Sanabria
His path to the World Cup squad has moved quickly. He received his first senior Uruguay call-up in June 2025 and made his debut last October in a 1-0 friendly win. Before reaching Salt Lake, he had appeared in 170 games across all competitions for Atlético San Luis since summer 2021, scoring eight goals.
Sanabria also brings a long Uruguay background at the youth level, with 88 youth national team games across Olympic-age, U20, U17 and U15 selections. He is a dual-national Uruguayan and Spanish citizen, and his senior tournament place now turns a productive MLS start into a World Cup assignment against Saudi Arabia in Miami.
