Nicolás de la Cruz

Nicolás de la Cruz
	De la Cruz playing for Uruguay U20 in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Diego Nicolás de la Cruz Arcosa
Date of birth	1 June 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Montevideo, Uruguay
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Flamengo
Number	18
Youth career
2009–2015	Liverpool Montevideo
Senior career*
Years	Team
2015–2017	Liverpool Montevideo
2017–2023	River Plate
2024–	Flamengo
International career‡
2012	Uruguay U17
2015	Uruguay U18
2015–2017	Uruguay U20
2020–	Uruguay
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Uruguay
Copa América
South American U-20 Championship
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 January 2025; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 October 2024

Diego Nicolás de la Cruz Arcosa (born 1 June 1997) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A club Flamengo and the Uruguay national team.^[2]

Club career

River Plate

On 15 August 2017, de la Cruz joined Argentinian club River Plate, signing a four-year contract.^[3]

Flamengo

On 24 December 2023, it was announced that de la Cruz would join Brazilian club Flamengo at the start of the 2024 season, signing a four-year contract.^[4]^[5]

International career

De la Cruz began his international career for Uruguay with under-17 team.^[6] He was captain of Uruguay under-20 team which won 2017 South American U-20 Championship and reached semi-finals of 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.^[7]

On 18 September 2020, de la Cruz was included in Uruguay's 26-man preliminary squad for World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Ecuador.^[8] He was later included in the final squad and made his senior debut on 8 October 2020 in Uruguay's 2–1 win against Chile. He started the match and played 55 minutes before getting replaced by Nahitan Nández.^[9]

Personal life

De la Cruz is the half-brother of former Uruguayan international footballer Carlos Sánchez.^[10] Their nephew Facundo Trinidad is also a professional footballer. All three of them are youth academy graduates of Liverpool Montevideo.^[11]

Career statistics

Club

As of 25 January 2025^[12]

**Appearances and goals by club, season and competition**
Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Liverpool	2015–16	Uruguayan Primera División	17	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	1
	2016		11	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	4
	2017		7	3	0	0	1^[a]	0	0	0	8	3
	Total		35	8	0	0	1	0	0	0	36	8
River Plate	2017–18	Argentine Primera División	14	0	4	0	2^[b]	0	0	0	20	0
	2018–19		17	1	3	0	2^[b]	0	8^[c]	3	30	4
	2019–20		17	4	5	0	12^[b]	3	1^[d]	1	35	8
	2021		22	5	1	0	7^[b]	0	0	0	30	5
	2022		32	4	3	0	7^[b]	2	0	0	42	6
	2023		28	6	2	0	7^[b]	1	1^[d]	0	38	7
	Total		137	23	19	0	49	9	10	4	214	36
Flamengo	2024	Série A	15	2	6	0	9^[b]	0	11^[e]	0	41	2
	2025	Série A	0	0	0	0	0	0	1^[e]	0	1	0
	Total		15	2	6	0	9	0	12	0	42	2
Career total			187	33	25	0	59	9	22	4	292	46

^ Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Appearances in Copa Libertadores
^ Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup and Recopa Sudamericana
^ ^a ^b Appearances in Supercopa Argentina
^ ^a ^b Appearances in Campeonato Carioca

International

As of match played 15 October 2024^[2]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Uruguay	2020	4	0
	2021	8	0
	2022	7	2
	2023	6	3
	2024	7	0
Total		32	5

Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each de la Cruz goal.

List of international goals scored by Nicolás de la Cruz
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 June 2022	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Panama	3–0	5–0	Friendly
2	27 September 2022	Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia	Canada	1–0	2–0	Friendly
3	8 September 2023	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Chile	1–0	3–1	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	8 September 2023	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Chile	3–1	3–1	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	17 October 2023	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Brazil	2–0	2–0	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Liverpool Montevideo

Segunda División: 2014–15

River Plate

Flamengo

Uruguay U20

South American U-20 Championship: 2017

Uruguay

Copa América third place: 2024^[13]

Individual

South American Team of the Year: 2023
Campeonato Carioca Team of the Season: 2024^[14]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: Uruguay" (PDF). FIFA. 18 December 2022. p. 30. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b Nicolás de la Cruz at Soccerway
^ "Nicolás de la Cruz se sumó a River Plate". caRiverPlate.com.ar (in Spanish). 15 August 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
^ "De La Cruz é presente de Natal para a Nação". Flamengo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 24 December 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
^ "Flamengo anuncia contratação de De La Cruz como presente de Natal: "Nação, tamo junto"". ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). 24 December 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
^ "11 - Nicolás De La Cruz - AUF". Retrieved 10 October 2020.
^ "Sudamericano Sub-20 2017". Retrieved 10 October 2020.
^ "26 futbolistas reservados del exterior para el debut en las Eliminatorias". Retrieved 10 October 2020.
^ "Uruguay venció 2-1 a Chile en el estadio Centenario". Retrieved 10 October 2020.
^ "El uruguayo Nicolás de la Cruz, hermano de Carlos Sánchez, ficha por River" [Uruguayan Nicolás de la Cruz, brother of Carlos Sánchez, signs for River] (in Spanish). EFE. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
^ "Facundo Trinidad firmó contrato". Retrieved 10 October 2020.
^ "Uruguay - N. de la Cruz - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
^ "Uruguay beats Canada on penalties to finish CONMEBOL Copa América™ in 3rd Place". 14 July 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
^ "Flamengo domina seleção do Campeonato Carioca: veja a escalação, o craque e a revelação" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge.globo. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.

External links

Profile at the Uruguayan Football Association website (in Spanish)

[CS-13] Appearances in Copa Sudamericana

[CL-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Appearances in Copa Libertadores

[FCWRS-15] Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup and Recopa Sudamericana

[SUC-16] Appearances in Supercopa Argentina

[CC-17] Appearances in Campeonato Carioca

[FIFA-1] "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: List of Players: Uruguay" (PDF). FIFA. 18 December 2022. p. 30. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2024.

[soccerway-2] Nicolás de la Cruz at Soccerway

[3] "Nicolás de la Cruz se sumó a River Plate". caRiverPlate.com.ar (in Spanish). 15 August 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2023.

[4] "De La Cruz é presente de Natal para a Nação". Flamengo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 24 December 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.

[5] "Flamengo anuncia contratação de De La Cruz como presente de Natal: "Nação, tamo junto"". ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). 24 December 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.

[auf1-6] "11 - Nicolás De La Cruz - AUF". Retrieved 10 October 2020.

[auf2-7] "Sudamericano Sub-20 2017". Retrieved 10 October 2020.

[auf3-8] "26 futbolistas reservados del exterior para el debut en las Eliminatorias". Retrieved 10 October 2020.

[auf4-9] "Uruguay venció 2-1 a Chile en el estadio Centenario". Retrieved 10 October 2020.

[10] "El uruguayo Nicolás de la Cruz, hermano de Carlos Sánchez, ficha por River" [Uruguayan Nicolás de la Cruz, brother of Carlos Sánchez, signs for River] (in Spanish). EFE. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2020.

[sobrino-11] "Facundo Trinidad firmó contrato". Retrieved 10 October 2020.

[12] "Uruguay - N. de la Cruz - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 April 2023.

[18] "Uruguay beats Canada on penalties to finish CONMEBOL Copa América™ in 3rd Place". 14 July 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.

[19] "Flamengo domina seleção do Campeonato Carioca: veja a escalação, o craque e a revelação" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge.globo. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.

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