Paraguay showed off its traditional ‘claw’ again in the eighth round of the South American qualifiers 2026 World Cup making its first victim, a blurred formation of Brazil which they won with a 1-0 victory at the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asunción.
In their second match under the command of Argentine Gustavo Alfaro, La Albirroja won for the first time at home in this play-off, after drawing 0-0 in Montevideo on Friday, and now, with 9 points, they are in seventh place, which gives them the right to play in a play-off. Brazil are now fifth in the standings, with ten points, eight behind the leader, Argentina.
Midfielder Diego Gomez created a long-range goal in the 20th minute that left goalkeeper Alisson with no chance. Gomez, Lionel Messi’s teammate at Inter Miami, received the ball on the left side of the area, held on to it, changed his front and expertly shot the ball into the back of the net.
The story was different from that moment on, as the team led by Argentine Gustavo Alfaro took the risk of entering the rival area and generating dangerous actions, while a bewildered Canarinha team looked for Vinicius, Rodrygo and Endrick to try to get out of the problem.
The Verdeamarela had imposed the pace of the game from the first minutes, but could not break the organized defense set up by Alfaro. With the score against them, the visitors looked for spaces, but Gustavo Alfaro’s men had other plans, which did not involve making things easier.
Paquetá and Rodrygo surround Bobadilla
The world champions tried to retreat in search of the ball and found themselves up against a Paraguayan team that closed the spaces and bet on the counterattack. As the clock ticked down, the tough, less attractive play was present in a Defensores del Chaco that was bursting at the seams. The locals cheered with cries of “ole” for every intervention by Gómez or the attackers Jorge Enciso and Miguel Almirón, both stars of English football.
The second half of the match became a back-and-forth of cleared balls and a Brazilian team that was overwhelmed at various times by apathy. Paraguay, showing signs of fatigue and weariness from an intense match at home, slowed down and ended up giving up space. That was how Vinícius Júnior had the opportunity to score in the 72nd minute with a shot that forced goalkeeper Roberto Fernández to clear quickly, although it did not change the outcome.
TECHNICAL SHEET
1 – Paraguay: Roberto Fernandez; Juan Caceres, Fabian Balbuena, Omar Alderete (d.39, Gustavo Velazquez), Junior Alonso, Mathias Villasanti, Damian Bobadilla, Diego Gomez (Ramon Sosa, d.66), Miguel Almiron (Hugo Cuenca, d.86), Julio Enciso (Blas Rivero, d.85) and Isidro Pitta (Alex Arce, d.67).
Coach: Gustavo Alfaro.
0 – Brazil: Alisson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Guilherme Arana (Estêvão Willian, d.86); André, Bruno Guimarães (Luiz Henrique André Rosa da Silva, m.46), Lucas Paquetá (Gerson Santos da Silva, m.79); Rodrygo (Lucas Moura, m.79), Endrick (João Pedro, m.46) and Vinícius Júnior.
Coach: Dorival Junior.
Goal: 1-0, Diego Gomez (m. 20)
Referee: Uruguayan Andres Matonte booked Damian Bobadilla, Diego Gomez, Junior Alonso, Miguel Almiron, Lucas Paquetá and Vinícus Junior.
Incidents: Match of the eighth round of the South American qualifiers played at the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asunción.
