MONTEVIDEO, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Uruguay's national soccer team's coach Oscar Tabarez announced on Wednesday the 24 players for the upcoming matches against Ecuador and Chile for the World Cup Russia 2018 South America qualifiers.?
Excluded from the starting list were winger Cristian Rodriguez (Independiente, Argentina) due to a recurring injury and forward Jonathan Rodriguez (Deportivo La Coruna, Spain).?
Goalkeeper Rodrigo Munoz (Libertad, Paraguay) was also missing from the list along with defender Emiliano Velazquez (Getafe, Spain).?
To fill these positions, Tabarez has called upon goalkeeper Martin Campana (Defensor Sporting, Uruguay), midfielders Nahitan Nandez (Penarol, Uruguay) and Brian Lozano (Defensor Sporting) and striker Michael Santos (River Plate, Argentina).?
Also featured in the team sheet are key players such as goalkeeper Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray, Turkey), defender and captain Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid, Spain) and midfielder Egidio Arevalo Rios (Tigres, Mexico).?
Striker Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain, France) will return to the team after serving a two-match ban for trying to hit Gonzalo Jara during a quarterfinal match earlier this year in the Copa America tournament when the Chilean player allegedly touched Cavani's bottom to provoke a reaction.?
Uruguay will visit Ecuador on November 12 and will receive Chile in Montevideo on the 17th for the third and fourth matches of the qualifiers.?
The team, led by Tabarez, is leading the South American qualifying tournament with full points after defeating Bolivia 2-0 in La Paz and Colombia 3-0 in Montevideo.??