Paraguay

Nickname(s)	Los Guaraníes La Albirroja (White and red)
Association	Paraguayan Football Association
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach	Francisco Arce
Captain	Justo Villar
Most caps	Carlos Gamarra (110)
Top scorer	José Saturnino Cardozo Roque Santa Cruz (25)
Home stadium	Estadio Defensores del Chaco
FIFA code	PAR
FIFA ranking	25
Highest FIFA ranking	8 (March 2001)
Lowest FIFA ranking	103 (May 1995)
Elo ranking	18
Highest Elo ranking	5 (1954)
Lowest Elo ranking	44 (August 1962)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Paraguay 1–5 Argentina  (Asunción, Paraguay; 11 May 1919)
Biggest win
Paraguay 7–0 Bolivia  (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 30 April 1949)  Hong Kong 0–7 Paraguay (Hong Kong; 17 November 2010)
Biggest defeat
Argentina 8–0 Paraguay (Santiago, Chile; 20 October 1926)
World Cup
Appearances	8 (First in 1930)
Best result	Quarterfinals, 2010
Copa América
Appearances	33 (First in 1921)
Best result	Winners, 1953 and 1979
Honours Olympic medal record Men's Football Silver 2004 Athens[1] Team

The Paraguay national football team is controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association (Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol) and represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions. 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.

South Africa 2010 was 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[link]

The beginning (1900–1930)[link]

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 América 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 América 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)[link]

After good participations in the Copa América 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 América 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)[link]

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)[link]

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, Argentina, and Uruguay.

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[link]

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, Ecuador, 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 5 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 América 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 América.

Results and Fixtures[link]

Recent and forthcoming matches[link]

Matches from the past 6 months as well as any future scheduled matches.

see also 2011 Paraguay national team results.
see also 2012 Paraguay national team results.

2011 Copa América July 3, 2011	Paraguay	0–0	Ecuador	Santa Fe, Argentina
18:30 UTC-3		Report		Stadium: Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López Attendance: 20.000 Referee: Sergio Pezzotta (Argentina)

2011 Copa América July 9, 2011	Brazil	2–2	Paraguay	Córdoba, Argentina
16:00 UTC-3	Jádson  38' Fred  89'	Report	Santa Cruz  54' Valdez  66'	Stadium: Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes Attendance: 57.000 Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

2011 Copa América July 13, 2011	Paraguay	3–3	Venezuela	Salta, Argentina
19:15 UTC-3	Alcaraz  33' Barrios  62' Riveros  85'	Report	Rondón  5' Fedor  89' Perozo  90+2'	Stadium: Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena Referee: Enrique Osses (Chile)

2011 Copa América July 17, 2011	Brazil	0–0 (aet) (0–2 p)	Paraguay	La Plata, Argentina
16:00 UTC-3		Report		Stadium: Estadio Ciudad de La Plata Referee: Sergio Pezzotta (Argentina)
		Penalties
	Elano Thiago Silva André Santos Fred		Barreto Estigarribia Riveros

2011 Copa América July 20, 2011	Venezuela	0–0 (3–5 p)	Paraguay	Mendoza, Argentina
21:45 UTC-3				Stadium: Estadio Malvinas Argentinas
		Penalties
	Maldonado Rey Lucena Fedor		Ortigoza Barrios Riveros Martínez Verón

2011 Copa América July 24, 2011	Uruguay	3–0	Paraguay	Buenos Aires, Argentina
16:00 UTC-3	Suárez  11' Forlán  41', 89'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti Referee: Sálvio Fagundes (Brazil)

Friendly September 2, 2011	Panama	0–2	Paraguay	Panama City, Panama
21:00 UTC-5			Cardozo  7' R. Ramírez  10'	Stadium: Estadio Rommel Fernández

Friendly September 6, 2011	Honduras	0–3	Paraguay	San Pedro Sula, Honduras
19:30 UTC-6			Camacho  31' Cardozo  86', 90+3'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano

2014 WCQ October 7, 2011	Peru	2–0	Paraguay	Lima, Peru
20:15 UTC-5	Guerrero  46', 71'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Nacional Attendance: 39,600 Referee: Sergio Pezzotta (Argentina)

2014 WCQ October 11, 2011	Paraguay	1–1	Uruguay	Asunción, Paraguay
19:45 UTC-3	Ortiz  90+2'	Report	Forlán  68'	Stadium: Estadio Defensores del Chaco Attendance: 12,922 Referee: Wilson Seneme (Brazil)

2014 WCQ November 11, 2011	Paraguay	2–1	Ecuador	Asunción, Paraguay
21:00 UTC-3	Riveros  47' Verón  57'	Report	Rojas  90+2'	Stadium: Estadio Defensores del Chaco Attendance: 11,173 Referee: Hernando Buitrago (Colombia)

2014 WCQ November 15, 2011	Chile	2–0	Paraguay	Santiago, Chile
20:30 UTC-3	Contreras  28' Campos  85'			Stadium: Estadio Nacional Referee: Héber Lopes (Brazil)

Friendly December 21, 2011	Chile	3–2	Paraguay	La Serena, Chile
UTC-3	S. Pinto  19', 62', 74'	Report	É.Benítez  52' J. Dos Santos  56'	Stadium: Estadio La Portada Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Raúl Orosco (Bolivia)

Friendly February 15, 2012	Paraguay	2 - 0	Chile	Luque, Paraguay
	É.Benítez  45+1' (pen.) J. Ortigoza  72'			Stadium: Estadio Feliciano Cáceres Attendance: 10.000

Friendly February 22, 2012	Paraguay	2 - 1	Guatemala	Luque, Paraguay
20:30 UTC-3	É.Benítez  33' A. Bogado  73' (pen.)		C. Ruiz  81'	Stadium: Estadio Feliciano Cáceres Attendance: 8.000

Friendly February 29, 2012	Paraguay	1 - 0	Panama	Asunción, Paraguay
20:30 UTC-3	J. Santana  88'			Stadium: Estadio General Pablo Rojas

Friendly April 25, 2012	Guatemala	0 - 1	Paraguay	Guatemala City, Guatemala
20:30 UTC-3			Template:Ricardo Mazacotte  7'	Stadium: Estadio Mateo Flores

2014 WCQ June 9, 2012	Bolivia	v	Paraguay	La Paz, Bolivia
UTC-4				Stadium: Estadio Hernando Siles

      Win       Draw       Loss

Players[link]

Current squad[link]

The following 27 players were named for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification Match against Bolivia in June 9, 2012.^[9]

Caps and goals updated as April 25, 2012.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club GK Justo Villar (1977-06-30) June 30, 1977 (age 34) 96 0 Estudiantes GK Diego Barreto (1981-07-16) July 16, 1981 (age 30) 14 0 Cerro Porteño GK Joel Silva (1989-01-13) January 13, 1989 (age 23) 4 0 Guaraní GK Anthony Domingo Silva (1984-02-27) February 27, 1984 (age 28) 2 0 Deportes Tolima DF Paulo da Silva (1980-02-01) February 1, 1980 (age 32) 101 2 Real Zaragoza DF Aureliano Torres (1982-06-16) June 16, 1982 (age 30) 44 2 Toluca DF Julio Manzur (1981-06-22) June 22, 1981 (age 31) 31 1 Guaraní DF Elvis Marecos (1980-02-15) February 15, 1980 (age 32) 8 1 Guaraní DF Tomás Bartoméus (1982-10-27) October 27, 1982 (age 29) 6 0 Guaraní DF Luis Cardozo (1988-10-12) October 12, 1988 (age 23) 3 0 Cerro Porteño DF Adalberto Román (1987-04-11) April 11, 1987 (age 25) 2 0 Palmeiras DF Ricardo Mazacotte (1985-01-09) January 9, 1985 (age 27) 1 1 Nacional MF Cristian Riveros (1982-10-16) October 16, 1982 (age 29) 77 14 Kayserispor MF Osvaldo Martínez (1986-04-08) April 8, 1986 (age 26) 25 1 Atlante MF Hernán Pérez (1989-02-25) February 25, 1989 (age 23) 17 0 Villarreal MF Marcos Riveros (1988-09-04) September 4, 1988 (age 23) 9 1 Nacional MF Jorge Mendoza (1989-05-15) May 15, 1989 (age 23) 5 0 Guaraní MF Eric Ramos (1987-05-12) May 12, 1987 (age 25) 4 0 Rubio Ñu MF Fidencio Oviedo (1987-05-30) May 30, 1987 (age 25) 3 0 Cerro Porteño MF Jorge Núñez (1984-09-22) September 22, 1984 (age 27) 1 0 Once Caldas MF Eduardo Aranda (1985-01-28) January 28, 1985 (age 27) 0 0 Olimpia FW Nelson Haedo Valdez (1983-11-28) November 28, 1983 (age 28) 58 12 Rubin Kazan FW Édgar Benítez (1987-11-08) November 8, 1987 (age 24) 24 4 Cerro Porteño FW Pablo Zeballos (1986-03-04) March 4, 1986 (age 26) 7 1 Olimpia FW José Ortigoza (1987-04-01) April 1, 1987 (age 25) 5 3 Sol de América FW Luis Nery Caballero (1990-04-22) April 22, 1990 (age 22) 4 0 Olimpia FW Lorenzo Melgarejo (1990-08-10) August 10, 1990 (age 21) 0 0 Paços de Ferreira

Recent call-ups[link]

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up GK Tobías Vargas (1989-08-21) August 21, 1989 (age 22) 1 0 Sportivo Luqueño v.  Guatemala, February 22, 2012 GK Carlos Servín (1987-03-24) March 24, 1987 (age 25) 0 0 Tacuary v.  Chile, December 21, 2011 GK Mario Villasanti (1982-07-02) July 2, 1982 (age 29) 0 0 Inti Gas v.  Uruguay, October 11, 2011 GK Roberto Junior Fernández (1988-03-29) March 29, 1988 (age 24) 0 0 Utrecht 2011 Copa América DF Pablo Aguilar (1987-04-02) April 2, 1987 (age 25) 4 0 Sportivo Luqueño v.  Guatemala, April 25, 2012 DF Salustiano Candia (1983-07-08) July 8, 1983 (age 28) 2 0 Olimpia v.  Guatemala, April 25, 2012 DF Carlos Bonet (1977-10-02) October 2, 1977 (age 34) 76 1 Libertad v.  Panama, February 29, 2012 DF Antolín Alcaraz (1982-07-30) July 30, 1982 (age 29) 19 2 Wigan Athletic v.  Panama, February 29, 2012 DF Miguel Samudio (1986-08-24) August 24, 1986 (age 25) 8 0 Libertad v.  Panama, February 29, 2012 DF Richard Adrián Salinas (1988-02-06) February 6, 1988 (age 24) 2 0 Independiente v.  Guatemala, February 22, 2012 DF Luis Cabral (1983-09-23) September 23, 1983 (age 28) 3 1 Guaraní v.  Chile, February 15, 2012 DF Enrique Meza (1985-11-28) November 28, 1985 (age 26) 2 0 Olimpia v.  Chile, February 15, 2012 DF Ismael Benegas (1987-08-01) August 1, 1987 (age 24) 3 0 Libertad v.  Chile, December 21, 2011 DF Iván Piris (1989-03-10) March 10, 1989 (age 23) 6 0 São Paulo v.  Chile, November 15, 2011 DF Darío Verón (1979-06-26) June 26, 1979 (age 33) 51 1 UNAM v.  Chile, November 15, 2011 DF Nery Bareiro (1988-07-21) July 21, 1988 (age 23) 0 0 Libertad v.  Honduras, September 6, 2011 DF Sergio Vergara (1988-12-15) December 15, 1988 (age 23) 1 0 Sportivo Luqueño v.  Honduras, September 6, 2011 DF Marcos Cáceres (1986-05-05) May 5, 1986 (age 26) 13 0 Racing 2011 Copa América DF Julio César Cáceres (1979-10-05) October 5, 1979 (age 32) 64 2 Olimpia v.  Peru, October 7, 2011 MF Reinaldo Ocampo (1987-01-06) January 6, 1987 (age 25) 3 0 Sol de América v.  Guatemala, April 25, 2012 MF Eduardo Echevarría (1989-03-04) March 4, 1989 (age 23) 1 0 Sportivo Carapeguá v.  Guatemala, April 25, 2012 MF Fernando Giménez (1984-07-10) July 10, 1984 (age 27) 1 0 Emelec v.  Guatemala, April 25, 2012 MF William Mendieta (1989-09-01) September 1, 1989 (age 22) 1 0 Sol de América v.  Guatemala, April 25, 2012 MF Víctor Cáceres (1985-03-25) March 25, 1985 (age 27) 44 0 Libertad v.  Panama, February 29, 2012 MF Jonathan Santana (1981-10-19) October 19, 1981 (age 30) 30 1 Libertad v.  Panama, February 29, 2012 MF Victor Ayala (1988-01-01) January 1, 1988 (age 24) 4 0 Libertad v.  Panama, February 29, 2012 MF Edgardo Orzuza (1986-02-23) February 23, 1986 (age 26) 2 0 Sol de América v.  Guatemala, February 22, 2012 MF César Llamas (1985-07-03) July 3, 1985 (age 26) 1 0 Rubio Ñu v.  Chile, February 15, 2012 MF Osvaldo Hobecker (1984-04-23) April 23, 1984 (age 28) 2 0 Olimpia v.  Chile, February 15, 2012 MF Silvio Torales (1991-09-23) September 23, 1991 (age 20) 2 0 Nacional v.  Chile, February 15, 2012 MF Sergio Aquino (1979-09-21) September 21, 1979 (age 32) 13 0 Libertad v.  Chile, December 21, 2011 MF Julio dos Santos (1983-05-07) May 7, 1983 (age 29) 26 3 Cerro Porteño v.  Chile, December 21, 2011 MF Marcos Melgarejo (1986-10-03) October 3, 1986 (age 25) 1 0 Libertad v.  Chile, December 21, 2011 MF Marcelo Estigarribia (1987-09-21) September 21, 1987 (age 24) 30 1 Juventus v.  Chile, November 15, 2011 MF Édgar Barreto (1984-07-15) July 15, 1984 (age 27) 60 3 Palermo v.  Chile, November 15, 2011 MF Richard Ortiz (1988-05-22) May 22, 1988 (age 24) 2 1 Olimpia v.  Chile, October 15, 2011 MF Wilson Pittoni (1985-08-14) August 14, 1985 (age 26) 3 0 Figueirense v.  Uruguay, October 11, 2011 MF Néstor Camacho (1987-10-15) October 15, 1987 (age 24) 7 1 Libertad v.  Honduras, September 6, 2011 MF Enrique Vera (1979-03-10) March 10, 1979 (age 33) 53 4 LDU Quito v.  Honduras, September 6, 2011 MF Néstor Ortigoza (1984-10-07) October 7, 1984 (age 27) 17 0 San Lorenzo 2011 Copa América MF Osmar Molinas (1985-05-03) May 3, 1985 (age 27) 7 0 Colo-Colo 2011 Copa América (preliminary squad) FW José Ariel Nuñez (1988-09-12) September 12, 1988 (age 23) 3 0 Libertad v.  Guatemala, April 25, 2012 FW Pablo Velázquez (1987-03-12) March 12, 1987 (age 25) 1 0 Libertad v.  Guatemala, April 25, 2012 FW Lucas Barrios (1984-11-13) November 13, 1984 (age 27) 23 6 Guangzhou Evergrande v.  Panama, February 29, 2012 FW Rodolfo Gamarra (1988-12-10) December 10, 1988 (age 23) 2 0 Libertad v.  Panama, February 29, 2012 FW Ariel Bogado (1983-12-24) December 24, 1983 (age 28) 3 1 Nacional v.  Guatemala, February 22, 2012 FW Jorge Rojas (1993-01-07) January 7, 1993 (age 19) 1 0 Cerro Porteño v.  Guatemala, February 22, 2012 FW Santiago Salcedo (1981-09-06) September 6, 1981 (age 30) 4 0 Cerro Porteño v.  Guatemala, February 22, 2012 FW Enzo Prono (1991-06-27) June 27, 1991 (age 20) 1 0 Sol de América v.  Chile, February 15, 2012 FW Fredy Bareiro (1982-03-27) March 27, 1982 (age 30) 19 2 Estudiantes Tecos v.  Chile, December 21, 2011 FW Óscar Cardozo (1983-05-20) May 20, 1983 (age 29) 43 8 Benfica v.  Chile, November 15, 2011 FW Roque Santa Cruz (1981-08-16) August 16, 1981 (age 30) 89 25 Real Betis v.  Uruguay, October 11, 2011 FW Robin Ramírez (1989-11-11) November 11, 1989 (age 22) 4 1 Deportes Tolima v.  Uruguay, October 11, 2011 FW Dante López (1983-08-16) August 16, 1983 (age 28) 27 0 Guaraní v.  Honduras, September 6, 2011 FW Julián Benítez (1987-06-06) June 6, 1987 (age 25) 2 0 Toros Neza 2011 Copa América (preliminary squad) FW Orlando Gaona Lugo (1990-07-25) July 25, 1990 (age 21) 3 0 Boca Juniors 2011 Copa América (preliminary squad) FW Federico Santander (1991-06-04) June 4, 1991 (age 21) 6 1 Racing 2011 Copa América (preliminary squad)

Previous squads[link]

Most caps and top scorers[link]

Tournament records[link]

Head to head[link]

World Cup record[link]

FIFA World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1930	Group Stage	9th	2	1	0	1	1	3
1934	Did Not Enter
1938
1950	Group Stage	11th	2	0	1	1	2	4
1954	Did Not Qualify
1958	Group Stage	12th	3	1	1	1	9	12
1962	Did Not Qualify
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986	Round of 16	13th	4	1	2	1	4	6
1990	Did Not Qualify
1994
1998	Round of 16	14th	4	1	2	1	3	2
2002	Round of 16	16th	4	1	1	2	6	7
2006	Group Stage	18th	3	1	0	2	2	2
2010	Quarter-Final	8th	5	1	3	1	3	2
2014	To Be Determined
2018
2022
Total	Quarter-Final	8/19	27	7	10	10	30	38

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Olympic Games record[link]

• 1992 – Quarter-Finals
• 2004 – Silver Medal (Second place)

Copa América record[link]

Pan American Games record[link]

• 1951 – Fifth place
• 1955 to 1983 – Did not compete
• 1987 – Round 1
• 1991 – Did not compete
• 1995 – Quarter-Finals
• 1999 – Did not compete
• 2003 – Round 1
• 2007 – Did not compete
• 2011 – Did not qualify

See also[link]

• Paraguay women's national football team
• Paraguay national under-20 football team
• Paraguay national under-17 football team
• Paraguay national futsal team
• Football in Paraguay

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site of the Paraguayan Football Association
• RSSSF archive of results 1919–2004
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup
• Planet World Cup archive of squads in the World Cup
• Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup qualifiers
• Paraguayan Football Site

Preceded by 1949 Brazil	South American Champions 1953 (First title)	Succeeded by 1955 Argentina
Preceded by 1975 Peru	South American Champions 1979 (Second title)	Succeeded by 1983 Uruguay

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