Buenos Aires-born Mariano Uglessich began his love affair with Paraguay at the turn of 2010, when the central defender swapped Spanish outfit Albacete for Asuncion‑based Olimpia.
This would mark the start of a three-year adventure, the first 12 months of which he spent representing El Decano before checking in at Cerro Porteno. After that, Uglessich continued to marshal defences for just over three seasons before moving into the dugout, where he served as Eduardo Berizzo’s right‑hand man for more than four years, most recently with Paraguay’s senior national team.
Although Uglessich’s first stint with La Albirroja came to an end in October 2021, he returned to the national-team set-up two years later. He worked with various youth national teams and was part of Paraguay’s staff at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament on French soil last year. Since the start of this year, he has been working with the U-17s, a crop of players he has known since they represented their country at U-15 level.
As Los Guaraníes put the finishing touches to their preparations for the FIFA U-17 World Cup™, the members of the squad are buzzing with excitement at the prospect of strutting their stuff on the ultimate stage. The Argentinian tactician sat down with FIFA to discuss his side’s ambitions ahead of the global showpiece.
Mariano Uglessich: I’m really pleased with how things are going. We’ve been working with this group of players for two years now, and they have competed in two continental World Cup qualifying campaigns. They already showed what they were capable of at U-15 level in Bolivia, where we were crowned champions, and then we qualified for the U-17 World Cup earlier on this year.
We’ve been working towards this tournament for some time now, we know each other inside out and these boys have a lot of experience on the continental stage, but this World Cup will present us with fresh emotions and matches against opposition from all over the globe.
Those teams will bring different cultures and their own playing styles, making it a new experience for everyone involved. We’ll try to perform to our best. We came over to Dubai ten days before the tournament kicks off to acclimatise ourselves. We’ve faced teams from various continents here in warm-up matches as we look to head into our tournament opener against Uzbekistan in the best possible shape.
We’re really concentrating on what we’re doing and on making sure the boys have put in the work, are acclimatised and are in the right frame of mind. We’ve got to remember how young they are. Being involved in such a major tournament can be mentally overwhelming, which is why we’re placing so much emphasis on our own preparations and mindset. It’s all about ensuring they’re not overawed by the scale of the event. That said, we never lose sight of our opposition.
We’ve seen how our group-stage rivals performed in qualifying, so we’re using that as our starting point. We’ve all earned our places at the World Cup on merit. We know that the three teams we’re set to face will pose very different tests.
We’ll get our campaign up and running against Uzbekistan, who are the Asian champions. We’re aware of the great strides they’re making on the continental stage and that the senior side have qualified for next year’s World Cup.
We’ll all be looking to hit the ground running and ensure that every player overcomes the added pressure that comes with playing in a World Cup. The side that gets off to the fastest start and are quickest to find their feet will be the ones to seize the early advantage.
The continental qualifying tournament, which features two groups of five teams, is very tough. In the group stage, in which we came up against top sides like Argentina, Chile and the hosts, Colombia, we won and lost two matches apiece.
We don’t rely on individual game changers, but that’s the case across all of the South American national teams in this young age group. We play with real intensity and fight for every ball. We’re an extremely physical side and make sure every match we’re involved in is a hard-fought encounter. That’s the approach we adopt as we look to come out on top in games.
I have very high hopes for this World Cup. I attended the draw a few months ago and, when they explained the format, I realised that competing at the Aspire Academy would make it a unique and special experience.
The matches won’t be staged in the traditional stadiums we’re used to and, in this age group, games are sometimes held in very large arenas. Playing at the Aspire Academy, where other matches will be contested on other pitches, will give the tournament a community feel akin to that of an Olympic Village, which I got a taste of at Paris 2024. I’m really looking forward to it as it will be a fantastic opportunity for the players to learn and get some valuable experience under their belts.
Every country that comes to these competitions shares the same dream of lifting the trophy – after all, everyone involved in the game trains and prepares to win. We always relish working towards those kinds of targets.
Of course, we know that might just be wishful thinking and we can’t go into the tournament saying “We’re going to win” or “We have to win.” I don’t think securing silverware is the first thing on any team’s agenda here. As for what we’re looking to do, we want to be able to go toe-to-toe with anyone and try to get the better of all comers.
