Paraguay heads towards North America for the FIFA World Cup this summer, ending a 16-year absence from football’s biggest stage.
Gustavo Alfaro’s side navigated a gruelling CONMEBOL qualifying campaign to seal their place at the tournament, finishing sixth with 28 points.
Despite a difficult opening stretch that left them teetering on the margins of automatic qualification, Paraguay found their footing and produced some memorable results, defeating both continental giants Brazil and Argentina along the way to confirm their place among the six South American sides heading to North America.
La Albirroja return to the World Cup for the ninth time, with their finest hour arriving at the 2010 edition in South Africa.
That campaign saw them eliminate Japan on penalties in the Round of 16 before being narrowly edged out 1-0 by eventual champions Spain in the quarter-finals — still their best-ever performance at the tournament, and the standard that this current generation will be aiming to match or better.
Paraguay is in Group D with the United States, Türkiye and Australia.
Paraguay 2026 World Cup fixtures
- Saturday, June 13th – USA vs Paraguay – Los Angeles, USA
- Saturday, June 20th – Türkiye vs Paraguay – Santa Clara, USA
- Friday, June 26th – Paraguay vs Australia – Santa Clara, USA
What time do Paraguay’s World Cup games kick-off?
All kick-off times are BST.
- USA vs Paraguay, 2am
- Türkiye vs Paraguay, 4am
- Paraguay vs Australia, 3am
Paraguay 2026 FIFA World Cup Squad
Goalkeepers: Roberto Fernández (Cerro Porteño), Orlando Gill (San Lorenzo), Gastón Olveira (Olimpia),
Defenders: Gustavo Gómez (Palmeiras), Júnior Alonso (Atletico Mineiro), Fabián Balbuena (Gremio), Omar Alderete (Sunderland), Juan Caceres (Dynamo Moscow), Jose Canale (Lanus), Alexandro Maidana (Talleres), Gustavo Velázquez (Cerro Porteño)
Midfielders: Miguel Almirón (Atlanta United), Kaku (Al Ain), Andrés Cubas (Vancouver Whitecaps), Ramón Sosa (Palmeiras), Diego Gómez (Brighton & Hove Albion), Damián Bobadilla (São Paulo), Braian Ojeda (Orlando City), Matías Galarza (Atlanta United), Maurício (Palmeiras)
Forwards: Antonio Sanabria (Cremonese), Julio Enciso (Strasbourg), Gabriel Ávalos (Independiente), Alex Arce (Independiente Rivadavia), Isidro Pitta (Red Bull Bragantino), Gustavo Caballero (Portsmouth)
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