Fernando Muslera #23

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Muslera was born in Buenos Aires on the day a Maradona-inspired Argentina beat Uruguay in the Last 16 at the 1986 World Cup, but there was never any doubt about which country would win the knockout tie for his allegiance – he was named after the Uruguayan striker Fernando Morena, and his family moved to Uruguay when he was an infant. “My passport says that I have Argentinian nationality, but I feel one hundred per cent Uruguayan,” he says. His life changed one day as an eight-year-old, already a keen footballer and prolific goalscorer, when his team’s goalkeeper failed to turn up for a match. “Like any kid I just wanted to play,” he recalled. “I didn’t care what position – though back then I didn’t like playing in goal at all.” It would be fair to say he was not temperamentally suited to the position. “Whenever I conceded a goal, I would start crying,” he said. “I didn’t want my team to lose. I took it very personally, as if it was my fault.” Now he is making history, as the first Uruguayan to feature in five World Cups.

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