🏔️
QF
World Cup 2010
Best WC run in 2010 — out to Spain by a single goal in the quarters.
LA ALBIRROJAFIRST WORLD CUP SINCE 2010
FILE No. 31CLASS: OUTSIDERSTATUS: BACK FROM THE WILDERNESSWC 2026 · USA·CAN·MEX
☆Back after 16 years away, and as stubborn as ever.
PARAGUAY
La Albirroja// Alfaro rebuilt the grit — the wilderness years are over
“To beat Paraguay, you have to beat them twice. Nobody scores cheap here.”— The Albirroja way
The record
QF — 2010
Best WC finish
2 — 1953, 1979
Copa América
9
WC appearances
#40
FIFA Ranking
01 · The Dossier — The Soul
Built on guaraní grit
and a stubborn back line
Paraguay has never been about flair. It's about discipline, defensive resilience and a refusal to be beaten — the qualities that made it a regular World Cup nuisance before a long absence, and that Gustavo Alfaro has restored.
Guaraní grit+Chilavert's era+Alfaro+The comeback
The ChacoChilavertLa AlbirrojaDefensive steelGarra guaraní
From the goalkeeping legend José Luis Chilavert to the 2010 side that reached a World Cup quarter-final, Paraguay built its identity on organisation and defiance — a team you had to break down brick by brick, that punched far above its resources.
Then came the wilderness: three straight World Cups missed after 2010. Gustavo Alfaro — the man who took Ecuador to Qatar — rebuilt the grit and the belief, dragging La Albirroja back to the finals after 16 years. The hard-to-beat Paraguay is back.
02 · The Cabinet — Honours
The record
Two continental crowns, a memorable quarter-final, and a reputation as South America's stubbornest opponent.
05 · The Legend — The Goalkeeping Giant
Chilavert
He was a goalkeeper who took free-kicks and penalties — and scored them. José Luis Chilavert, all swagger and bullet left foot, was the most famous Paraguayan footballer of all time.
He dragged La Albirroja to the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, an icon of personality in a team built on collective grit, and remains one of the most distinctive players the game has produced.
His spirit — fearless, defiant, larger than life — still defines how Paraguay plays: never beaten without a fight, never overawed by anyone.
// The Albirroja greats
02
Roque Santa Cruz
The long-serving talisman
03
Carlos Gamarra
The 2002 defensive rock
04
Justo Villar
The 2010 quarter-final keeper
CHILAVERT
José Luis Chilavert
8
Int'l goals (GK)
2
World Cups
🧤
The icon
06 · Threat Assessment
⚠ HOSTILE · THE CO-HOST OPENER
The enemy
Group D is a true four-way scrap, and it begins with the toughest assignment: the co-hosts, USA, in front of a home crowd in Los Angeles.
USA — the co-host openerHIGH
16 years of rustREAL
Goals — the old weaknessCHRONIC
Paraguay rarely outscores anyone — it out-stubborns them. In a tight group, the team nobody enjoys playing could quietly slip through.
The wounds
// the lean years
// Group D — the field
USA
GROUP D
The co-hosts — a daunting opener in LA.
Türkiye
GROUP D
The gifted young side — a key Matchday 2 clash.
Australia
GROUP D
A mirror-image grind — the likely decider for a knockout spot.
04 · The road — The road · WC 2026
Kickoff
09
Days
11
Hours
32
Mins
54
Secs
Until Paraguay's first kick — vs USA · June 12
07 · The Spark
Lightning rod
Paraguay's grit is a given; its goals are the question. Miguel Almirón's pace and directness are the clearest route to the moments of quality that turn stubborn draws into wins.
ALMIRÓN
Premier League paceThe talismanCarries the threatAtlanta United
30+
Caps
32
Age at the World Cup
№10
The spark
In a team built to defend, he is the burst of speed that wins games. “Paraguay's attack runs at his pace.”
The Comeback Meter
// happy to be back, or built to advance?
Glad to be hereHard-to-beat dark horse
Current reading
The return trip
After 16 years away, simply being here is progress. A tight group and a shortage of goals may make the knockouts a step too far.
08 · Key Power · World Cup 2026
JULIO ENCISO
The wildcard · Ipswich Town · No. 20
Paraguay's old flaw was a lack of invention. Julio Enciso is the antidote — a young, fearless attacker capable of a wonder-goal out of nothing, the kind of moment a grind-it-out side rarely manufactures. If La Albirroja are to win a game they're not expected to, the spark likely comes from him. The flair in a team of fighters.
✨
The wildcard
22
Age at the World Cup
№20
The flair
The last line of the file
To beat Paraguay,
you have to beat them twice.
La AlbirrojaGarra guaraníGroup DBack from the wildernessDefensive steel
Squad
As of 2026-06-01
Manager
G. Alfaro
AR