Uruguay national team received a heros welcome as they returned home from South Africa. Hundreds of thousands of Uruguayans followed and cheered the team in a long motorcade as they paraded along the sea promenade of the capital city, Montevideo, on Tuesday.

The players waved to the crowd from the bus, holding flags, some of them filming on their own camcorders to cherish this moment forever.

On the sides of the bus, a large banner summed up the nation's feeling: "Orgullo celeste", Spanish for "Light blue pride", referring to the colour of Uruguay's shirt.

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez has has cut Catania striker Jorge Martinez from his final squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

River Plate midfielder Jorge Rodriguez and Nacional winger Alvaro Gonzalez have also been left out of the party for South Africa as Tabarez reduced his squad to 23 from 26.

Uruguay are in Group A alongside France, Mexico and the hosts for the tournament.

Goalkeepers: Fernando Muslera (Lazio), Juan-Guillermo Castillo (Cali), Martin Silva (Defensor Sporting)

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Switzerland suffered a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Uruguay in their friendly meeting ahead of this summer's World Cup finals.

Both teams fielded experimental line-ups with the Swiss looking shaky from the off and the visitors seizing the early initiative.

But the hosts recovered from their early wobbles and went ahead from the penalty spot in the 29th minute through Gokhan Inler and Marco Strellar was fouled.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is lining up a bid for Palermo's Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani , according to the Daily Mail.

The 23 year-old has bagged 31 goals since arriving at Palermo in 2007 from the Uruguayan league. The 6ft striker is quick and creative and attracted the attentions of Lazio several months ago. Having scored 14 goals in Serie A so far this season, he is bang in form.