"We have six days to prepare - we are among the eight best teams in the World Cup. It's been such a long time and we've never managed to achieve this goal - our intention is to face our next match and try to win it," Tabarez said after his side's 2-1 win over South Korea in the Round of 16.
Tabarez was full of praise for South Korea.
"It was a very difficult match to play" against a side which Tabarez described as "perhaps the strongest in Asia."
"This confirms how balanced football is around the world," he said.
The coach also said Korea's equalizer proved a turning point in the match.
"The Korean goal was key to our improvement. We realised we could concede a goal and played a better game in the last minutes, and managed to score that spectacular goal that secured victory for us."
The coach said Saturday's victory in the Round of 16 had huge significance for a small country like Uruguay.
"There's only 3 million inhabitants in Uruguay and we've waited a long time for something like this and now it's happening," Tabarez said. "The main reason is to give our people joy and I hope the celebrations will continue."
Tabarez said that the Koreans surprised him tactically with their direct approach. "They imposed their style on the game. The Koreans really had us running up and down," he said. "I think at the toughest time, when the equaliser came, my team reacted well."
But the coach was happy with the "harmony and unity" in his team.
"This is a very good weapon against any team. Let's see how far we can go on this voyage. We're not building castles in the air - but we don't have to give up on anything before actually playing the matches."
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