Uruguay face France with one eye fixed on Italy and World Cup target

Ambitious goal for Los Teros is to qualify automatically for Australia in 2027 by finishing third in their pool in France

Uruguay's players take part in a training session on the eve of their 2023 World Cup match against France. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)

Four years ago the motto was “shock the world”. And they did, beating Fiji 30-27 for one of the bigger Rugby World Cup surprise results.

This time around the Uruguayanteam, better know as “Los Teros”, get their tournament underway against hosts France on Thursday night with a more ambitious goal: “make history”.