Joy: Uruguay's Maximiliano Pereira, left, celebrates with teammate Diego Godin after qualifying for the World Cup at the expense of Costa Rica

The Coach: Oscar Tabárez (Uruguayan, 62). Appointed: 2006. WC experience: Player: None. Coach: 1990.

The former AC Milan manager first saw service with his country in 1983 when he took charge of Uruguay’s Under-20s, and assumed control of the senior side in 2006.

The Country: Uruguay were the last country to qualify for the finals, overcoming Costa Rica on Wednesday night. And afterwards, Tabárez vowed to take an improved side to the finals.

A 1-1 home draw with Costa Rica booked Uruguay a ticket to South Africa with a 2-1 aggregate win in the qualifying play-off. "It was very tough," said Tabárez. "This match mirrored the tie as a whole. I'm very happy. Fortunately, we made it, in spite of the way we did it. There is a lot to improve on.

“We'll do so and we'll have the World Cup to prove it. I'm very happy, mostly for the kids. The ones who are younger than eight years old have never seen this and now they can live it."

Captain Diego Lugano was disappointed Uruguay had to go through the play-offs. "I am happy to qualify, but not for the way we've clinched it," the Fenerbahce defender said. "It is unbelievable that we have to suffer this way."

Midfielder Alvaro Fernández added: "We'll never make it into the World Cup comfortably, but it has a special taste."

Telegraph verdict: Have wonderful attacking threat in Diego Forlán but they also appear to, at times, suffer from a lack of belief and confidence in the big moments. And they don’t come much bigger than the World Cup.