Paraguay
La Albirroja
Manager
The Story
Paraguay are back. After missing three consecutive World Cups, La Albirroja have ended a 16-year absence from football's biggest stage, and they arrive at this tournament with genuine defensive steel and a squad that quietly overperforms its ranking. Gustavo Alfaro's side ground out qualification the hard way, starting with one point from their first three matches before a remarkable second-half run that included stunning home wins over both Brazil and Argentina. They finished sixth in CONMEBOL with 28 points from 18 matches, conceding just 10 goals across the entire campaign. That number tells you everything about how Alfaro has set this team up. The 63-year-old Argentine built his system around a compact defensive block, with Gustavo Gómez marshalling the backline from his Palmeiras experience and the midfield pair of Ramón Sosa and Andrés Cubas doing the dirty work. Alfaro trusts the press, he trusts the counter, and he knows exactly how to grind out results at this level, having done it with Ecuador at Qatar 2022. The squad carries more international pedigree than its ranking suggests. Only three players come from the domestic Paraguayan league, with seven based in Brazil and six in Argentina. Diego Gómez at Brighton has developed into a legitimate Premier League-level midfielder. Miguel Almirón brings MLS firepower and big-game experience. Antonio Sanabria, who spent years warming benches in European football, finally became a genuine international goal threat during qualifying, netting four times including a brace against Venezuela and the crucial equaliser in a 2-1 win over Argentina at home. Group D pits them against the USA, Türkiye, and Australia. Realistically, Paraguay are fighting for a third-place berth that could still advance under the expanded 48-team format. They will make life miserable for every opponent. That defensive record is no fluke. One major concern clouds the tournament build-up: Julio Enciso left the 4-0 Nicaragua friendly in tears with a suspected hamstring issue at the 24-minute mark. If he misses significant game time, Paraguay lose their most creative and direct threat in tight spaces.
Paraguay's defensive record under Alfaro is one of the most striking numbers in the whole qualification cycle. Ten goals against in 18 CONMEBOL matches placed them ahead of every other South American side, including teams ranked far above them in the FIFA table. Gómez and Alderete at the heart of that back four were immense, and the system behind them was watertight.
Paraguay's attack is too reliant on Almirón's individual brilliance and set-piece situations; their open-play goal creation away from Asunción has been thin throughout qualifying. The potential loss of Julio Enciso to injury is a serious blow to their counter-attacking threat, and a squad with limited Champions League or top-five European league experience will struggle if forced to chase games against elite pressing sides like the USA.
Key Players
Miguel Almirón
Atlanta United FC · age 32
Almirón is Paraguay's fulcrum and their biggest name heading into the tournament. Back in MLS after his Newcastle years, he has lost none of his pressing intensity or quick-twitch pace in behind defensive lines. He scored Paraguay's second goal against Nicaragua in the final warmup and has been central to every meaningful attacking move in qualifying. Alfaro builds the counter-attack system with Almirón's recovery runs and late arrivals in mind. The whole team's upside pivots on how much he turns up in big moments.
Gustavo Gómez
SE Palmeiras · age 33
The captain and heartbeat of the backline. Gómez brings 90 caps and a Brasileirão winner's medal to this squad, and his reading of the game is years ahead of Paraguay's defensive peers at this level. He organises, he heads, and he occasionally bombs forward to devastating effect, setting up Almirón for the second goal against Nicaragua. At 33, this World Cup is almost certainly his last, and that motivation will sharpen him further.
Diego Gómez
Brighton & Hove Albion FC · age 22
The 22-year-old is the pick of Paraguay's next generation. His match-winning goal against Brazil in qualifying announced him on the continental stage, and a season at Brighton in the Premier League has sharpened his technical quality and positional instincts considerably. He operates in tight spaces with ease, carries the ball past pressure with composure, and has the engine to contribute in both directions. A genuine breakout candidate at this tournament if Alfaro trusts him with regular minutes.
Antonio Sanabria
Cremonese · age 29
Sanabria's qualifying campaign was the most significant transformation in this entire squad. He netted four times including a two-goal substitute performance to overturn Venezuela, and scored the equaliser in a home win against Argentina. Joined newly promoted Cremonese from Torino and leads a surprisingly competitive front line there. Almost all of his international goals have come at home in Asunción, so the neutral-venue World Cup setting will test whether his form translates.
Julio Enciso
RC Strasbourg · age 21
A creative, direct midfielder with Ligue 1 experience at Strasbourg after leaving Brighton. Enciso provides the vertical, disruptive dribbling that Paraguay's system craves in transition, but his fitness is in real doubt after he left the Nicaragua friendly at the 24-minute mark with a suspected leg injury, visibly distressed. If he clears the medical, he adds a dimension Alfaro cannot replicate elsewhere. Without him, Paraguay's attacking options become significantly flatter.
Warm-Up Matches
- v Nicaragua2026-06-05 · Estadio Defensores del Chaco, AsunciónW4-0
Recent Form
Tournament Prediction
Paraguay enter this tournament as the most defensively disciplined underdog in Group D. Ten goals conceded across 18 CONMEBOL qualifiers is a genuinely elite number. The problem is the group draw. As host nation ranked 16th in the world and playing in Los Angeles, the USA have crowd and momentum firmly behind them. Türkiye are ranked 22nd and carry genuine European quality. Australia, ranked 27th, sit just above Paraguay and will target the same third-place qualifying position. Alfaro's team is unlikely to take maximum points from anyone in this group. A narrow defeat to the USA in the opener, a tight game against Türkiye, and a win or draw against Australia is the most plausible scenario. Under the expanded 48-team format, third place can still qualify, but Paraguay's goal differential is likely to be negative. They finish third, and whether they advance as one of the eight best third-placed teams becomes the real question. On balance, the Round of 32 is the ceiling and most likely outcome. There is value in backing them to reach the knockout stage at longer odds, but not enough to recommend outright.
Betting Markets
Paraguay to reach the Round of 32.
Confidence: Medium