A double from the forward Antonio Sanabriaof the Turin Italian, gave this Tuesday a crucial 2-1 victory to Paraguay about Venezuela which placed them in sixth place, in a match for the tenth day of the South American qualifier for the 2026 World Cup held in Asunción.
Paraguay came back thanks to Sanabria who equalized at 59, after Vinotinto opened the actions at 25 minutes with Jon Aramburu (Real Sociedad) and repeated the dose in the 74th minute, thus sentencing the second Guaraní victory in Gustavo’s era Alfaro who catapulted Albirroja to the direct qualification positions for the 2026 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Venezuela has lost its way. He hasn’t won for six days. She is eighth with 11 points and left the privileged positions. Paraguay pulled out all the stops again and scored the victory at home, after beating Brazil 1-0 on matchday eight. Alfaro’s pupils opened fire from the first moments of the game, which foreshadowed the intensity of the commitment.
With a first half marked by fouls and several yellow cards that Chilean Piero Maza had to show in an attempt to calm things down, the Guaraníes tried to set the tone for the match against a Venezuelan team that did not abandon its lines. Julio Enciso and Miguel Almirón, the two Paraguayan stars in the English league, commanded the actions towards the Vinotinto area, which until then contained the Albirroja attack as a whole.
Thus, in the 14th minute, Enciso advanced quickly down the wing and attempted a shot that Rafael Romo was able to control. Minutes later it was Almirón’s turn, who headed a ball and sent it over the rival goal.
Jhonder Cadiz (Venezuela), disputes a ball with Omar Alderete
And when Paraguay seemed to have control, a Venezuelan counterattack surprised the locals, who were overwhelmed by a skillfully orchestrated play in the center of the field by Yeferson Soteldo, who crossed from right to left with the ball dominated until he put it in the Aramburu feet. The Real Sociedad defender knew how to capitalize on the opportunity with a shot from mid-range that put Venezuela ahead and which the experienced Roberto Fernández failed to reach.
Far from losing momentum, the Guaraní team sought to recover and insisted until they got a penalty after a foul against Gustavo Gómez. However, Enciso wasted the chance to equalize the score in the 41st minute, with a low shot that ended up in the hands of the Venezuelan goalkeeper.
The return from the break brought two providential changes: Ángel Romero and Antonio Sanabria, whose presence gave a new air to Alfaro’s team. This is how Sanabria appeared in the 59th minute on one side of the area to collect a pass served by Junior Alonso, who took a heel that adorned Almirón’s night.
And in the 74th minute, the Italian club’s striker was again in front of the goal to complement with a header a touch attempted unsuccessfully by Enciso and make it 2-1. Defensores del Chaco burst with joy and celebrated, after 15 years, two consecutive victories in a tie and, in the process, broke the statistic against Venezuela, which had won in its visits to Albirroja in 2012 and 2017.
Read also
The result propelled Paraguay to sixth place in the standings, with 13 points, while Venezuela was eighth, out of the play-off position, with 11.
TECHNICAL SHEET
2 – Paraguay: Roberto Fernandez; Juan Cáceres, Gustavo Gómez, Omar Alderete, Junior Alonso, Andrés Cubas, Diego Gómez (Damián Bobadilla, m.80), Miguel Almirón (Fabián Balbuena, m.80), Julio Enciso (Mathías Villasanti, m.88), Ramón Sosa (Ángel Romero, m.46) and Isidro Pitta (Antonio Sanabria, m.46).
1 – Venezuela: Rafael Romo; Nahuel Ferraresi (Jesús Ramírez, m.88), Jon Aramburu, Yangel Herrera, Jefferson Savarino (Jhonder Cádiz, m.66), Yeferson Soteldo, Darwin Machís (Eduard Bello, m.79), Eric Ramírez, Miguel Navarro, Cristian Cásseres (Telasco Segovia, m.80) and Salomón Rondón.
Goals: 0-1, Jon Aramburu (m. 25); 1-1, Antonio Sanabria (d. 59); 2-1, Antonio Sanabria (m. 74)
Referee: The Chilean Piero Maza. He reprimanded Navarro, Soteldo, Cásseres, Aramburu, Bello, Juan Cáceres and Alderete.
Incidents: Match on the tenth date of the South American qualifier for the 2026 World Cup played at the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asunción.
