To see all of EFE’s Sports coverage click here
Asunción (EFE).- Paraguay beat Argentina 2-1 in Asunción, in a match for the eleventh round of the South American qualifier for the 2026 World Cup that confirmed the good moment of those led by coach Gustavo Alfaro, who have already accumulated five rounds. no defeats.
The victory, third in a row for the Guaraníes who already applied the same dose to Brazil and Venezuela in their fiefdom, consolidated the Albirroja in sixth place in the table, with 16 points, and kept Argentina at the head of the classification of the tie, with 22 units, three more than their second team, the Colombian team.
An early goal from Lautaro
Players of the Argentina national team prior to a match in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 Soccer World Cup. EFE/ Juan Pablo Pino Players of the Paraguay national team prior to a match in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 Soccer World Cup. EFE/ Juan Pablo Pino
Lautaro Martínez, forward of Inter of Italy, opened the scoring in favor of the Albiceleste. Foreshadowing a commitment that is easy to process for the world champion team.
After a start with great speed and feints from both sides, Martínez, in the 11th minute, picked up a ball in the air with which he advanced from the left towards the opposite area and surpassed, without hesitation, the Paraguayan goalkeeper, Junior Fernández.
The advantage, which threatened to spoil the Paraguayan party, lasted just eight minutes due to the quick response of the Guaraníes, who from the initial whistle had stalked the Argentine goal, which was saved from being beaten in the 7th minute by a shot from Diego Gómez that It crashed into the crossbar.
Paraguay reverses the result
It was Antonio Sanabria, the striker for Torino FC of Italy and Paraguayan scorer in this tie, who left the match in a draw. With a bicycle kick, he sent the ball to an unreachable angle for Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez.
EFE gallery of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers: Paraguay – Argentina. EFE/ Juan Pablo Pino
The parity encouraged the locals to manage the actions for a few more minutes, although already in the last quarter of the first half the Argentines imposed their presence, and managed to neutralize a couple of entries from the middle of the field by Miguel Almirón, the midfielder of the English Newcastle, who this Thursday played as the fourth midfielder on the left.
The break seemed to cool down the Argentines who saw their net pierced in the 47th minute with a header from Omar Alderete. The Spanish Getafe defender rose in the middle of the area to deflect a stopped ball shot.
Key victory for Paraguay
Alderete turned around a score that seemed adverse and restored spirit to a local team willing to not give up space in a Defensores team that remembered the times of Guaraní glory.
EFE gallery of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers: Paraguay – Argentina. EFE/ Juan Pablo Pino
A deflected shot by Rodrigo De Paul, in the 68th minute, alerted Fernández, who was attentive to any rival attempt.
With the victory of this day, those led by Alfaro paid in favor of Paraguay in the statistics of the World Cup qualification matches played by both teams since 1965, which now have 11 draws, 7 with a victory for the Albiceleste and 4 for the Albirroja.
Lionel Scaloni’s pupils had beaten Paraguay in a qualifying game played in October 2023. Nicolás Otamendi scored the only goal.
This is how the Paraguay – Argentina match began
Technical information for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers:
🇵🇾 2. Paraguay Junior Fernandez; Gustavo Velázquez, Gustavo Gómez, Omar Alderete, Junior Alonso, Andrés Cubas, Damián Bobadilla (m.81, Mathías Villasanti), Diego Gómez (m.72, Ángel Romero), Miguel Almirón (m.89, Alejandro Romero), Julio Enciso (d.81, Ramón Sosa) and Antonio Sanabria (d.72. Isidro Pitta).Selector: Gustavo Alfaro.
🇦🇷 1. Argentina Emiliano Martínez; Nahuel Molina (m.76, Gonzalo Montiel), Cristian Romero (m.45, Leonardo Balerdi), Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Tagliafico, Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández (m.76, Leandro Paredes), Mac Allister (m.62, Alejandro Garnacho ), Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez (m.85, Mariano Castellanos) and Lautaro Martínez.Selector: Lionel Scaloni.
Goals 0-1, m.11: Lautaro Martínez. 1-1, m18: Antonio Sanabria. 2-1, m.47: Omar Alderete
