Estadio Centenario

The Estadio Centenario in Parque Batlle is one of football's great historic venues — built for the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup, which Uruguay hosted and won. The stadium is still the home ground of the Uruguayan national team and has a capacity of around 60,000. A small museum inside (Museo del Fútbol) tells the story of that 1930 tournament and Uruguayan football history more broadly.

If a match is scheduled during your visit, it's worth attending — Uruguayan football fans are passionate and the experience of seeing a national team match in this historic setting is memorable. The museum alone justifies a visit for football enthusiasts; it has original match programmes, trophies, photographs, and match footage from the early tournaments.

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A story
On 30 July 1930, the Estadio Centenario hosted the world's first FIFA World Cup final. Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 in front of 68,000 spectators. The stadium had been built in just eight months specifically for the tournament. In the semi-final Uruguay beat Yugoslavia; in the other semi-final Argentina beat the United States 6-1.

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