Oscar Tabarez could lead Uruguay at a fourth World Cup after extending his stay as head coach until 2022

Veteran coach Oscar Tabarez will remain in charge of Uruguay until the next World Cup after signing a four-year contract extension.

Tabarez reached an agreement with the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) on Friday to continue in the role he has held since 2006.

The 71-year-old’s future had gone unresolved following the World Cup in Russia, where Uruguay lost in the quarter-finals to France.

Under-20 coach Fabian Coito took control on an interim basis for the recent friendly win over Mexico in August, but Tabarez will now return to the bench.

The former Boca Juniors and AC Milan boss, who is in his second spell at the helm, could lead his country at a fourth World Cup if Uruguay qualify for Qatar 2022.

He has reached the knockout rounds on each of the previous three occasions, the best return being a fourth-place finish in 2010.

After the World Cup, Tabarez admitted that he was not sure if he would stay on, saying that it would be up to the AUF to decide if they wanted to keep him at the helm.

“I don’t know of any coach who can decide his own future,” he told reporters in Russia.

“I still have a contract, but I am not going to talk about what might happen because this is not the time.

“There are associations who are there to decide these things and if I made a comment now I would be going against my principles.

“I don’t know what is going to happen, but Uruguayan football will continue to grow and develop its history.

“Of course we feel it when we lose. Of course we are sad. But now we must look to the future and the Copa America.

“Uruguay are still one of the most important teams in the world.”