| Nicolás de la Cruz | |
| Upright: | 0.7 |
| Full Name: | Diego Nicolás de la Cruz Arcosa[1] |
| Birth Date: | 1 June 1997 |
| Birth Place: | Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Height: | 1.67 m |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Flamengo |
| Clubnumber: | 18 |
| Youthyears1: | 2009–2015 |
| Youthclubs1: | Liverpool Montevideo |
| Years1: | 2015–2017 |
| Clubs1: | Liverpool Montevideo |
| Caps1: | 35 |
| Goals1: | 8 |
| Years2: | 2017–2023 |
| Clubs2: | River Plate |
| Caps2: | 137 |
| Goals2: | 23 |
| Years3: | 2024– |
| Clubs3: | Flamengo |
| Caps3: | 20 |
| Goals3: | 2 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2012 |
| Nationalteam1: | Uruguay U17 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 4 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2015 |
| Nationalteam2: | Uruguay U18 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 6 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2015–2017 |
| Nationalteam3: | Uruguay U20 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 26 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 5 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2020– |
| Nationalteam4: | Uruguay |
| Nationalcaps4: | 31 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 5 |
| Club-Update: | 25 July 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 11 July 2024 |
Diego Nicolás de la Cruz Arcosa (born 1 June 1997) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as an midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A club Flamengo and the Uruguay national team.
On 15 August 2017, de la Cruz joined Argentinian club River Plate, signing a four-year contract.[2]
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.[3] [4]
De la Cruz began his international career for Uruguay with under-17 team.[5] 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.[6]
On 18 September 2020, de la Cruz was included in Uruguay's 26-men preliminary squad for World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Ecuador.[7] 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.[8]
De la Cruz is the half-brother of former Uruguayan international footballer Carlos Sánchez.[9] Their nephew Facundo Trinidad is also a professional footballer. All three of them are youth academy graduates of Liverpool Montevideo.[10]
| 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 | 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 30 | 4 | |||
| 2019–20 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 8 | |||
| 2021 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 5 | |||
| 2022 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 6 | |||
| 2023 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 7 | |||
| Total | 137 | 23 | 19 | 0 | 49 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 214 | 36 | |||
| Flamengo | 2024 | Série A | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 30 | 2 | |
| Career total | 182 | 33 | 22 | 0 | 56 | 9 | 21 | 4 | 280 | 46 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | 2020 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2023 | 6 | 3 | ||
| 2024 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 31 | 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 | 3–0 | 5–0 | Friendly | ||
| 2 | 27 September 2022 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | ||
| 3 | 8 September 2023 | align=center | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 4 | 3–1 | ||||||
| 5 | 17 October 2023 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Liverpool Montevideo
2014–15
River Plate
Flamengo
Uruguay U20
Uruguay
Individual