Real Madrid Star Fede Valverde Blames Uruguay’s World Cup Early Exit for Recent Dip in Form

• Federico Valverde believes Uruguay exiting the 2022 FIFA World Cup early has affected his form negatively
• Valverde has suffered a dip in form of late after struggling to replicate his early season form since after the World Cup
• Valverde has played in every one of Real Madrid's 20 La Liga matches in the 2022/2023 campaign

The 2022 FIFA World Cup may have come and gone but some footballers are still to get over the effects of the global showpiece hosted in Qatar.

Real Madrid midfielder, Federico Valverde has blamed the tournament for his recent dip in form for the Spanish champions following Uruguay’s early World Cup exit.

According to Football Espana, Valverde went out in the group stage with Uruguay, and the Real Madrid midfielder has admitted that their disappointment weighed heavily on him.

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“It affected me, obviously, because I really wanted things to go well with my country… I went with the excitement of a child, with the dream of millions of people. I felt that everything I worked for had been of no use, it hurt a lot.”

Valverde who scored eight goals for Real Madrid before the World Cup, has failed to find the back of the net since returning to the La Liga champions after the competition in Qatar.

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The Uruguayan was speaking ahead of Real Madrid’s Club World Cup semi-final clash against African champions Al Ahly on Wednesday, February 8.

Valverde is bidding to win another major tournament with Real Madrid after emerging as a Champions League and La Liga winner with the Spanish giants.

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Valverde scores goal of the season

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Real Madrid star Federico Valverde scored a cracking individual goal against Sevilla on Saturday night in La Liga.

Veteran midfielder Luka Modric scored the opening goal in the 5th minute, only for Erik Lamela to notch the equaliser 10 minutes after half-time.

Two minutes later, Valverde then smashed an unstoppable right-footed shot into the top corner from just outside the penalty area to make it 3-1.