The head of the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) said Monday he favored extending national team coach Oscar Tabarez's contract past the 2014 World Cup.

"I am speaking on my own behalf. If it were up to me, the process should continue as it has until now," AUF President Wilmar Valdez said, according to Monday's online edition of national daily El Pais.

To qualify for the World Cup's next round of 16, Uruguay has to defeat Italy Tuesday at Natal's Das Dunas Stadium, while Italy only needs a draw to advance.

While Uruguay lost 1-3 to Costa Rica in its World Cup debut, it managed to bounce back to beat England 2-1, with two goals by star footballer Luis Suarez.

Valdez said when AUF personnel arrived in Brazil, "one of the first things we did was to meet with Tabarez ... to give him the peace of mind that nothing was going to change."

Valdez was named interim head of the AUF in April for a period ending on July 31, following the final of the World Cup on July 13.

Under the supervision of Tabarez, which has been with the team since 2006, Uruguay won the 2011 Americas Cup and fourth place at the 2010 South Africa World Cup.

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