forlán was a part of the uruguay squad for the 2014 world cup in brazil. at the age of 35, he started the opening match against group underdogs costa rica in place of the absent luis suárez. he had a deflected shot saved by costa rican goalkeeper keylor navas as uruguay lost the game 3–1. forlán did not appear again until the round of 16, where uruguay were beaten 2–0 by colombia.