Why Uruguay can wear four stars on their shirt even though they’ve only won the World Cup twice
Here’s why Uruguay gets to have four stars on their World Cup jersey, even though they’ve only won the tournament twice.
Less than a week into the 2026 World Cup, it’s already shaping up to be unforgettable. Hosts Mexico kicked things off with a 2-0 win over South Africa in a wild opening match where three players got sent off. Big teams like the USA, Scotland, Australia, and Germany also scored some great wins. On the other hand, favorites Spain were surprisingly held to a 0-0 draw by Cape Verde — probably the biggest surprise so far.
Some countries still haven’t played their first games yet, including Uruguay. Their first match will be early Tuesday morning against Saudi Arabia. Then, they’ll take on the surprising Cape Verde on June 21 and finish their group stages against Spain on June 27.
If you watch Uruguay’s games, you might notice their crest has four stars — but Uruguay has only won the FIFA World Cup twice. So, why four stars? Here’s the story:
Uruguay won the World Cup in 1930 and 1950, beating South American rivals Argentina and Brazil in those finals. But before the World Cup existed, they also won Olympic gold in soccer in 1924 and 1928, in Paris and Amsterdam. Back then, the Olympics were seen as the world championship in soccer. Because of this, Uruguay believes those two Olympic wins count as world titles, which is why they add two more stars to their crest.
This has caused some debate, especially since Uruguay has more stars than neighbors and rivals Argentina, as well as other big teams like France and Spain.
The idea of putting stars on jerseys to show World Cup wins started with Brazil in 1974. They added their stars as they won titles, with five stars now representing their five World Cup wins — the most of any team.
Uruguay added their four stars in 1991. At first, FIFA was okay with it, but 30 years later, they asked Puma (who made Uruguay’s kits) to remove two stars. Uruguay showed FIFA proof to support their claim, and FIFA agreed to let them keep all four stars. So, the four-star crest has stayed that way ever since.