Uruguay hires Diego Alonso to replace Tabárez as head coach

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Diego Alonso has been hired as Uruguay’s head coach to replace veteran Óscar Tabárez. Uruguay’s soccer federation appointed the 46-year-old Alonso on Tuesday. Tabárez was fired last month amid his team’s poor run in South American World Cup qualifying. Alonso was available after leaving Inter Milan in January. His previous coaching jobs include Uruguayan giants Peñarol (2013), Paraguay’s Olimpia (2014), and Mexico’s Pachuca (2014-2018) and Monterrey (2018-19). The Uruguayans are in seventh place in the 10-team South American qualifying group. The top four teams earn automatic spots at Qatar 2022 and the fifth-place team goes into an intercontinental playoff. Uruguay is one point behind fourth-place Colombia with four matches remaining.