Nicolás de la Cruz - Wikipedia
- ️Sun Jun 01 1997
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is de la Cruz and the second or maternal family name is Arcosa.
 De la Cruz playing for Uruguay U20 in 2017 | |||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Diego Nicolás de la Cruz Arcosa[1] | ||||||||||
| Date of birth | 1 June 1997 (age 27)[1] | ||||||||||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | ||||||||||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)[1] | ||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||
Current team | Flamengo | ||||||||||
| Number | 18 | ||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||
| 2009–2015 | Liverpool Montevideo | ||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Liverpool Montevideo | 35 | (8) | ||||||||
| 2017–2023 | River Plate | 137 | (23) | ||||||||
| 2024– | Flamengo | 27 | (2) | ||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||
| 2012 | Uruguay U17 | 4 | (1) | ||||||||
| 2015 | Uruguay U18 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Uruguay U20 | 26 | (5) | ||||||||
| 2020– | Uruguay | 32 | (5) | ||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||
|
*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]
On 15 August 2017, de la Cruz joined Argentinian club River Plate, signing a four-year contract.[3]
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
[edit]
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]
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]
- As of 25 January 2025[12]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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
- As of match played 15 October 2024[2]
| 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.
| 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 | 3–1 | |||||
| 5 | 17 October 2023 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Brazil |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Liverpool Montevideo
- Segunda División: 2014–15
River Plate
- Copa Argentina: 2017, 2019
- Supercopa Argentina: 2017, 2019
- Copa Libertadores: 2018
- Recopa Sudamericana: 2019
- Argentine Primera División: 2021, 2023
- Trofeo de Campeones: 2021, 2023
Flamengo
Uruguay U20
Uruguay
- Copa América third place: 2024[14]
Individual
- South American Team of the Year: 2023
- Campeonato Carioca Team of the Season: 2024[15]
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Flamengo domina o Botafogo e é campeão da Supercopa Rei" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge.globo. 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ^ "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.
- Profile at the Uruguayan Football Association website (in Spanish)