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The Paraguay national football team is controlled by the Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol. The team has reached the second round of the World Cup on four occasions (in 1986, 1998, 2002 and 2010). The 2010 trip also featured their first appearance in the quarterfinals. Paraguay's only major tournament victories have come in the Copa América, in which they triumphed; in 1953; and in 1979. Paraguay also won a silver medal in football tournament at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, being defeated 1–0 by Argentina in the final[1]. This second place finish is Paraguay's top finish in any world-level competition to date. Paraguay also finished Fourth in the 2001 Under-20 World Cup in Argentina.
Since the 1998 World Cup qualifiers Paraguay has been established as one of the top 3 teams of CONMEBOL. South Africa 2010 is Paraguay's fourth consecutive trip to the World Cup final tournament, having previously qualified for the final at France 1998, Korea/Japan 2002, and Germany 2006.
History
The beginning (1900–1930)
Soon after the introduction of football in Paraguay by
Williams Paats, the
Liga Paraguaya de Futbol (today
Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol) was created in 1906. The first national football team was organized in 1910 when an invitation by the Argentine club Hércules of
Corrientes was received to play a friendly match. Members of that first national team where F. Melián, G. Almeida, A. Rodríguez, M. Barrios, P. Samaniego, J. Morín, Z. Gadea, D. Andreani, C. Mena Porta, B. Villamayor, M. Rojas and E. Erico. The match ended in a 0–0 draw.
[2]Because of the increasing number of invitations to play matches and international tournaments, the Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol decided to officially create the national team and select the striped red and white jerseys that until this date remain as the official colours (taken from the Paraguayan flag). In late 1919 Paraguay accepted the invitation to play the 1921 Copa America and in order to prepare for that occasion a number of friendly matches were played between 1919 and the start of the tournament in 1921. The first of those friendly matches was a 5–1 loss against Argentina, and it marked the first international game by the Paraguayan national football team. When the 1921 Copa America finally arrived, Paraguay surprised everybody by beating then three-time South American champions Uruguay by 2–1, being this the first match in an official competition for the Paraguayan football team. Paraguay eventually finished fourth in the tournament and became a regular participant of the tournament for the next editions.
In 1930 Paraguay participated in the first World Cup, organized by Uruguay. In the first round, Paraguay debuted and lost to the United States (0–3), to then defeat Belgium (1–0) with a goal by Luis Vargas Peña. Only one team was to advance from the group stage, and the U.S. left Paraguay behind.
First taste of success (1930–1970)
After good participations in the Copa America tournaments of
1929,
1947 and
1949 (where Paraguay finished in second place), Paraguay was ready for their next
World Cup competition.
The return to the World Cup was in 1950, where Paraguay faced Sweden and Italy in Group 3. Paraguay failed to advance to the next round after a 2–2 draw against Sweden and a 2–0 loss against Italy.
The first big success came in 1953 when Paraguay won the Copa America disputed in Peru. In their road to the championship, Paraguay defeated Chile (3–0), Bolivia (2–1) and Brazil (2–1); and tied against Ecuador (0–0), Peru (2–2) and Uruguay (2–2). Since Paraguay and Brazil were tied in points at the end of the tournament, a final playoff match was played between them, with Paraguay winning the final by 3–2. Key players of the campaign included Ángel Berni, Heriberto Herrera and Rubén Fernández. The coach was Manuel Fleitas Solich.[3]
For the 1958 World Cup, Paraguay surprisingly qualified ahead of Uruguay (beating them 5–0 in the decisive game) with a team that contained a formidable attacking lineup with stars such as Juan Bautista Agüero, José Parodi, Juan Romero, Cayetano Ré and Florencio Amarilla. In their first game in Sweden, Paraguay were 3–2 up against France in a game they lost 7–3. A 3–2 win over Scotland and a 3–3 draw with Yugoslavia saw Paraguay finish third in their group.
The departure of several of their stars for European football (mainly Spain) resulted in a weakening of Paraguay's football fortunes somewhat, but they were only edged out by Mexico in the 1962 qualifiers.
More continental success (1970–1990)
Paraguay fell short in subsequent World Cup qualifying campaigns, but
Copa América success (and that of one of its premier clubs
Olimpia in the
Copa Libertadores) in 1979 shored up Paraguay as a solid player on the continent.
The 1979 Copa América was won by Paraguay after finishing first in Group C (which had Uruguay and Ecuador as well) with two wins and two draws. In the semi-finals Paraguay defeated Brazil by an aggregate score of 4–3. In the finals, Paraguay defeated Chile by an aggregate score of 3–1 to claim its second continental crown. Players such as Julio Cesar Romero (Romerito), Carlos Alberto Kiese, Alicio Solalinde, Roberto Paredes, Hugo Ricardo Talavera and Eugenio Morel where an important part of the team, coached by Ranulfo Miranda.[4]
Paraguay ended a 28-year absence from the World Cup in 1986 with a team starring Roberto Fernández in goal; Cesar Zavala, Rogelio Delgado and Juan Bautista Torales in defense; Jorge Amado Nunes and Vladimiro Schettina in midfield; midfield playmaker Romerito and strikers Roberto Cabañas, Ramon Angel Maria Hicks and Rolando Chilavert (older brother of José Luis Chilavert). In first round matches, Paraguay defeated Iraq (1–0, goal Romerito) and then tied Mexico (1–1, goal Romerito) and Belgium (2–2, both goals Roberto Cabañas). They reached the second round where they were beaten 3–0 by England.[5]
The golden generation (1990–2006)
A drought followed once again, as Paraguay failed to reach
Italy 1990 and
U.S. 1994 World Cups.
In 1992, Paraguay won the South American Pre-Olympic tournament, which guaranteed a spot in the 1992 Summer Olympics football competition. In the Olympics, Paraguay finished second in its group and were eliminated by Ghana in the quarterfinals[1]. The most important aspect of that Paraguay team was the emergence of new young players like Carlos Gamarra, Celso Ayala, José Luis Chilavert, Francisco Arce and José Cardozo, which became part of the "golden generation" that led Paraguay to three straight World Cups and good performances in continental competitions, establishing Paraguay as one of the top teams in South America alongside Brazil and Argentina.
This new generation of players helped end the World Cup drought in grand fashion, as the Albirroja reached the France 1998 World Cup by qualifying in second place in South America behind Argentina. The first round matches were against Bulgaria (0–0), Spain (0–0), and Nigeria (3–1; goals Celso Ayala, Miguel Ángel Benítez and José Cardozo). Paraguay qualified to the second round (Round of 16) to be defeated in a thrilling match against would-be World Champions France. France only scored through Laurent Blanc in the 114th minute, during the second half of overtime (making it the first golden goal scored in a World Cup). Paraguay's central defending duo (Carlos Gamarra and Celso Ayala) and goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert were selected for the all-star World Cup team.
Paraguay returned to the World’s greatest stage once more in the 2002 World Cup. In their first match, Paraguay tied South Africa 2–2 (goals: Roque Santa Cruz and Francisco Arce). Paraguay lost to Spain in the second game (1–3) and finally defeated Slovenia (3–1; goals Nelson Cuevas, twice, and Jorge Luis Campos) to qualify for the second round. Germany ended Paraguay’s dreams in the World Cup with an 88 minute goal.
In 2006, Paraguay qualified for its third World Cup in a row. This time, two early defeats against England and Sweden (both 0–1) sent the team home early. The only consolation was defeating Trinidad and Tobago during the last and final group game by 2–0.
Present
After the 2006 World Cup,
Aníbal Ruiz resigned as head coach and
Raúl Vicente Amarilla was assigned as the
Interim coach. In 2007, Argentine
Gerardo "Tata" Martino was designated as head-coach. The former Newell's Old Boys (Rosario, Argentina) skipper's coaching career had blossomed in Paraguay where he formerly coached Libertad and Cerro Porteño.
Paraguay's national squad underwent a major transition after Germany 2006 because of the retirement of key players such as Carlos Gamarra, Francisco Arce, Celso Ayala, and goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert. Paraguay's under-19 side won the Milk Cup in 2002, 2003 and 2006, and players such as Nelson Haedo Valdez, Julio dos Santos, José Montiel and Óscar Cardozo were thought key to the re-building of the team.
The renovated squad reached first place in the CONMEBOL qualifiers, and becoming the second CONMEBOL team to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, ahead of continental powers Argentina, Colombia, and Chile. Paraguay defeated Brazil at home (2–0), defeated Chile and Colombia away (0–3 and 0–1), and tied Argentina in Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires. Qualification was secured with a 1–0 win over Diego Maradona's Argentina on 9 September 2009.[6]
On January 2010, a tragic head injury suffered in an assault forced Salvador Cabañas to abandon football for an unspecified period of time, which gave him no chance of making the final 23-man squad for South Africa 2010.[7]
In their fourth consecutive World Cup appearance, Paraguay eventually reached the quarterfinals. Drawn into Group F along with defending champions Italy, Slovakia, and New Zealand, they opened their tournament with a draw against the Italians, holding them 1–1 thanks to a first-half goal from Antolin Alcaraz. In their second game, they beat Slovakia 2–0 with goals from Enrique Vera and Christian Riveros. Their final group match saw a goalless draw with New Zealand, clinching first place in Group F and setting up a date with Japan. Another goalless draw with the Japanese after 120 minutes went to penalties, which Paraguay won 5–3, advancing them for the first time in their history to the World Cup round of eight. In the quarterfinals they met powerhouses Spain, to whom they lost 1–0 in a game where a goal by Nelson Haedo Valdez was controversially called an offside by the referee. The game also featured each team being awarded a penalty, both of which were contained, first by Spanish keeper Casillas and then by Paraguayan keeper Villar (both were also team captains for the game).
The Albirroja arrived back from South Africa on Monday, July 5th at 3:30 AM. Upon arrival, they were greeted by over 3000 fans at the airport and were decorated by the President of Paraguay. Gerardo Martino announced that he would take some time to decide his future, although the Paraguayan FA has offered him a four year contract to continue at the helm. Roque Santa Cruz also announced that this would be his last World Cup, but that he may play one more tournament, the Copa America in Argentina in 2011. ESPN.com reports that Gerardo Martino will not return as head coach for Paraguay, however, he promised fans that he would help the team transition to the future and help the team select a new national team coach.[8] Later, however, Martino decided to sign a new contract that will keep him in charge of the Albirroja until after the 2011 Copa America.
Tournament records
World Cup record
| World Cup record |
|---|
| Host nation(s) / Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|
 1930 | Round 1 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 1934 | Did not enter |  1938 | Did not enter |  1950 | Round 1 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
 1954 | Did not qualify |  1958 | Round 1 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 12 |
 1962 | Did not qualify |  1966 | Did not qualify |  1970 | Did not qualify |  1974 | Did not qualify |  1978 | Did not qualify |  1982 | Did not qualify | 1986 | Round of 16 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
 1990 | Did not qualify |  1994 | Did not qualify | 1998 | Round of 16 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
  2002 | Round of 16 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| 2006 | Round 1 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
 2010 | Quarter-finals | 8 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Total | 8/19 | |7 | 10 | 10 | 31 | 38 |
- *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
Olympic Games record
- 1992 – Quarterfinals
- 2004 – Silver Medal (Second place)
Copa América record
Pan American Games record
Most Paraguay caps
Top Paraguay goalscorers
Current team status
Recent games
Current squad
The following 23-man squad was selected for the
2010 FIFA World Cup list. Caps and goals updated as July 3, 2010.
| No. | Pos. | Player | DoB (Age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|
| 1 | GK | Justo Villar (captain) | June 30, 1977 (1977-06-30) (age 33) | 78 | 0 | Valladolid | | 12 | GK | Diego Barreto | July 16, 1981 (1981-07-16) (age 29) | 4 | 0 |  Cerro Porteño | | 22 | GK | Aldo Bobadilla | April 20, 1976 (1976-04-20) (age 34) | 19 | 0 |  Corinthians | |
|---|
| 2 | DF | Darío Verón | June 26, 1979 (1979-06-26) (age 31) | 30 | 0 | UNAM | | 3 | DF | Claudio Morel | February 2, 1978 (1978-02-02) (age 32) | 33 | 0 | Boca Juniors | | 4 | DF | Denis Caniza | August 29, 1974 (1974-08-29) (age 35) | 99 | 1 | León | | 5 | DF | Julio César Cáceres | October 5, 1979 (1979-10-05) (age 30) | 63 | 2 | Atlético Mineiro | | 6 | DF | Carlos Bonet | October 2, 1977 (1977-10-02) (age 32) | 67 | 1 | Olimpia | | 14 | DF | Paulo da Silva | February 1, 1980 (1980-02-01) (age 30) | 76 | 2 | Sunderland | | 17 | DF | Aureliano Torres | June 16, 1982 (1982-06-16) (age 28) | 30 | 2 | San Lorenzo | | 21 | DF | Antolín Alcaraz | July 30, 1982 (1982-07-30) (age 27) | 10 | 1 | Wigan Athletic | |
|---|
| 8 | MF | Édgar Barreto | July 15, 1984 (1984-07-15) (age 26) | 51 | 2 | Atalanta | | 11 | MF | Jonathan Santana | October 19, 1981 (1981-10-19) (age 28) | 24 | 0 | Wolfsburg | | 13 | MF | Enrique Vera | March 10, 1979 (1979-03-10) (age 31) | 34 | 3 | Atlas | | 15 | MF | Víctor Cáceres | March 25, 1985 (1985-03-25) (age 25) | 31 | 0 | Libertad | | 16 | MF | Cristian Riveros | October 16, 1982 (1982-10-16) (age 27) | 54 | 9 | Sunderland | | 20 | MF | Néstor Ortigoza | October 7, 1984 (1984-10-07) (age 25) | 7 | 0 | Argentinos Juniors | |
|---|
| 7 | FW | Óscar Cardozo | May 20, 1983 (1983-05-20) (age 27) | 34 | 4 |  Benfica | | 9 | FW | Roque Santa Cruz | August 16, 1981 (1981-08-16) (age 28) | 75 | 21 | Manchester City | | 10 | FW | Édgar Benítez | November 8, 1987 (1987-11-08) (age 22) | 15 | 1 | Pachuca | | 18 | FW | Nelson Haedo Valdez | November 28, 1983 (1983-11-28) (age 26) | 43 | 9 | Borussia Dortmund | | 19 | FW | Lucas Barrios | November 13, 1984 (1984-11-13) (age 25) | 8 | 3 | Borussia Dortmund | | 23 | FW | Rodolfo Gamarra | December 10, 1988 (1988-12-10) (age 21) | 3 | 0 | Libertad |
|
Recent call ups
The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.
| No. | Pos. | Player | DoB (Age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|
| GK | Víctor Centurión | February 24, 1986 (1986-02-24) (age 24) | 2 | 0 | Tacuary | | GK | Joel Silva | January 13, 1989 (1989-01-13) (age 21) | 0 | 0 | Guaraní | |
|---|
| DF | Marcos Cáceres | May 5, 1986 (1986-05-05) (age 24) | 6 | 0 | Racing | | DF | Julio Manzur | June 22, 1981 (1981-06-22) (age 29) | 27 | 0 | Olimpia | | DF | Miguel Samudio | August 24, 1986 (1986-08-24) (age 23) | 1 | 0 | Libertad | | DF | Elvis Marecos | February 15, 1980 (1980-02-15) (age 30) | 1 | 0 | Guaraní | | DF | Pedro Benítez | March 22, 1981 (1981-03-22) (age 29) | 11 | 1 | Atlético Mineiro | | DF | César Benítez | May 22, 1990 (1990-05-22) (age 20) | 2 | 0 | Cerro Porteño | | DF | Blas Cáceres | July 1, 1989 (1989-07-01) (age 21) | 0 | 0 | Olimpia | |
|---|
| MF | Sergio Aquino | September 21, 1979 (1979-09-21) (age 30) | 9 | 0 | Libertad | | MF | Rodrigo Burgos | June 21, 1989 (1989-06-21) (age 21) | 1 | 0 | Cerro Porteño | | MF | Marcelo Estigarribia | September 21, 1987 (1987-09-21) (age 22) | 9 | 1 | Newell's Old Boys | | MF | Rodrigo Rojas | April 9, 1988 (1988-04-09) (age 22) | 3 | 0 | River Plate | | MF | Marcos Riveros | September 4, 1988 (1988-09-04) (age 21) | 2 | 0 | Nacional | | MF | Osvaldo Hobecker | March 23, 1984 (1984-03-23) (age 26) | 1 | 0 | Rubio Ñú | | MF | Eduardo Ledesma | August 7, 1985 (1985-08-07) (age 24) | 11 | 0 | Lanús | | MF | Osvaldo Martínez | April 8, 1986 (1986-04-08) (age 24) | 14 | 0 | Monterrey | | MF | Jorge Moreira | February 1, 1990 (1990-02-01) (age 20) | 1 | 0 | Libertad | | MF | Hernán Pérez | February 25, 1989 (1989-02-25) (age 21) | 1 | 0 | Villarreal B | |
|---|
| FW | Jorge Achucarro | November 6, 1981 (1981-11-06) (age 28) | 12 | 0 | Atlas | | FW | Salvador Cabañas | August 5, 1980 (1980-08-05) (age 29) | 45 | 10 | América | | FW | Dante López | August 16, 1983 (1983-08-16) (age 26) | 25 | 3 | UNAM | | FW | Fredy Bareiro | December 24, 1983 (1983-12-24) (age 26) | 18 | 2 | Estudiantes Tecos | | FW | Guillermo Beltrán | June 25, 1984 (1984-06-25) (age 26) | 2 | 0 | Nacional | | FW | Néstor Ayala | February 18, 1983 (1983-02-18) (age 27) | 3 | 1 | Tigre |
|
See also
References
External links
| 1950 FIFA World Cup finalists |
|---|
| | Champions | | | | Runners-up | | | | Third place | | | | Fourth place | | | | Eliminated in the first round | |
|
| 1958 FIFA World Cup finalists |
|---|
| | Champions | | | | Runners-up | | | | Third place | | | | Fourth place | | | | Eliminated in the quarter-finals | | | | Eliminated in the group stage | |
|
| 1986 FIFA World Cup finalists |
|---|
| | Champions | | | | Runners-up | | | | Third place | | | | Fourth place | | | | Eliminated in the quarter-finals | | | | Eliminated in the round of 16 | | | | Eliminated in the group stage | |
|
| 1998 FIFA World Cup finalists |
|---|
| | Champions | | | | Runners-up | | | | Third place | | | | Fourth place | | | | Eliminated in the quarter-finals | | | | Eliminated in the round of 16 | | | | Eliminated in the group stage | |
|
| 2002 FIFA World Cup finalists |
|---|
| | Champions | | | | Runners-up | | | | Third place | | | | Fourth place | | | | Eliminated in the quarter-finals | | | | Eliminated in the round of 16 | | | | Eliminated in the group stage | |
|
| 2006 FIFA World Cup finalists |
|---|
| | Champions | | | | Runners-up | | | | Third place | | | | Fourth place | | | | Eliminated in the quarter-finals | | | | Eliminated in the round of 16 | | | | Eliminated in the group stage | |
|
| 2010 FIFA World Cup finalists |
|---|
| | Champions | | | | Runners-up | | | | Third place | | | | Fourth place | | | | Eliminated in the quarterfinals | | | | Eliminated in the round of 16 | | | | Eliminated in group stage | |
|
Gerardo Martino
Paraguay 1 – 5 Argentina 
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