(Getty Images)
With Reuters
Coach Gustavo Alfaro said Paraguay will take inspiration from their wins over Argentina and Brazil in World Cup qualifiers in today’s David vs Goliath match.
“We were up against Argentina, Brazil, teams of the same level and maybe even higher than Germany,” Alfaro told reporters on Sunday.
“They are all candidates for world champions. We met them and it was hard for us, but we managed,” he said.
Paraguay returned to the World Cup for the first time since 2010, when they lost in the quarter-finals to eventual champions Spain, after a qualifying campaign that started poorly but was turned around by Alfaro’s appointment in August 2024.
Alfaro led the team to victory over both neighboring South American football giants.
Paraguay’s disastrous start to the tournament, when they lost 4-1 to hosts USA, was followed by a 1-0 win over Turkey (in a game where they were reduced to 10 men and their opponents had 33 shots on target) and a 0-0 draw with Australia.
This was enough for Paraguay to advance to the first round of the playoffs.