Mini football figure - Paraguay

Paraguay

The Paraguayan national football team is the football team of Paraguay and is managed by the national football association. The national team's kit colours are red and white (jersey) and blue (shorts and socks).

The Beginnings (1906-1930)

Shortly after the Dutchman Paats introduced football to Paraguay a Paraguayan liga was founded in 1906. In 1910, the 1st national team came together and played against Argentina. This match was preceded by an request from Argentina and ended without goals (0-0).

Due to the lots of questions if they wanted to participate to friendly matches and tournaments, the Paraguayan Football Association decided to introduce an official national team. In 1919, the request to the Campeonato Sudamericano 1921 was accepted. Paraguay's first official international match also took place in the same year. Their opponent was Argentina, and they won 5:1.

Due to its participation in the Copa América, the association joined FIFA in 1925.

At the Copa América, Paraguay surprised everyone by beating three-time tournament winners Uruguay 2-1 in their first match. After two defeats against Argentina and Brazil, the Paraguayan national team finished its first international tournament in last place.

Paraguay took part in the 1st World Cup in 1930. In Uruguay, the team faced the US and Belgium. After a 3-0 defeat to the US, Paraguay won 1-0 against Belgium. Since only the group winners could go to the knockout stage at that time, the tournament was over for the South Americans at this point.

The team did not qualify for the two World Cups that followed.

The first successes (1930-1970)

Paraguay performed very well at the Copa America in 1929, 1947 + 1949.

The national team was automatically qualified for the 1950 World Cup in Brazil because the national teams of Peru and Ecuador had cancelled. During the World Cup finals, Paraguay played against Italy and Sweden, India had previously cancelled their participation. Paraguay played 2:2 against the Swedes, in the last group match, they lost from Italy with 0:2.

In 1953, the team won its first international tournament, the Campeonato Sudamericano 1953 in Peru. Paraguay finished the final round level on points with Brazil and won the deciding match for the title 3:2.

The Albirroja failed to qualify for the 1954 World Cup. In 1957, Paraguay qualified for the World Cup 1958 in Sweden. In the final match, the favoured Uruguay was beaten with 5:0.

In the first match against France, the South Americans even led 3:2 at one point, but lost the game 7-3 in the end. After the 3:2 victory against the Scottish team, and also draw against Yugoslavia, the team only finished third in the group. Juan Bautista Agüero scored two goals for Paraguay in this tournament. In addition to Agüero, who later played for Sevilla FC and Real Madrid, there were other players in the team who managed to make the leap to Europe.

Nevertheless, they failed to qualify for the next World Cup in Chile in 1962.

More influence in South America (1970-1990)

Paraguay failed to qualify for a World Cup in the 1960s and 1970s, but their success in South America made them a strong contender in South America. In 1979, they won the the Copa America and the country had a strong football club in Club Olimpia, which won the Copa Libertadores in the same year.

After 28 years, Paraguay qualified for a World Cup for the first time. The 1986 World Cup took place in Mexico. The Guaraníes beat Colombia and Chile in the last round of qualifying. In Mexico, the team played Mexico, Belgium and Iraq in the first round. In the first match, they beat the Iraqi national team. They drew against Mexico and Belgium. Romerito and Roberto Cabañas scored all the goals in the preliminary round. With a second place in the group, they reached the last 16 for the first time at a World Cup. But Paraguay lost 0:3 against England.

Succesful period from 1990 to 2006

After their first success in a World Cup beyond the preliminary round, Paraguay could not qualify for a World Cup in the following preliminary rounds (1990 + 1994).

In 1992, the South Americans won the qualifying tournament for the Summer Olympics in Barcelona in 1992. The team finished 2nd in their group, but failed to beat Ghana during the 1 / 4  finals.

During this period, many young players played in the national team. Ayala, Gamarra, Chilavert and Arce were the new generation of football players in Paraguay.

In the coming years, this generation managed to ensure that the Albirroja successfully participated in three World Cups. They were always among the top favourites in the South American tournaments. 

At the 1998 World Cup, they were able to hold their own in the group against Spain, Nigeria and Bulgaria. In the last 16, the team lost 1-0 to France, the eventual world champions, with Laurent Blanc scoring the decisive golden goal in extra time. Carlos Gamarra, Celso Ayala and goalkeeper Chilavert were nominated for the tournament's All-Star Team.

At the 2002 World Cup, Paraguay also failed in the final 16. The German national team defeated the South Americans 1-0, with Oliver Neuville scoring in the 88th minute.

At the 2006 World Cup, the Albirroja were defeated by Sweden and England in the preliminary round.

The present

After the 2006 World Cup, the then coach Aníbal Ruiz resigned. Raúl Vicente Amarilla took over as interim head coach. In 2007, the Argentine Gerardo Martino became the new coach of the Guaraníes.

In recent years, the Guaraníes have almost always finished among the top eight in the Copa America. In the last Copa América in 2007, the team lost 6-0 to Mexico in the quarter-finals.

After many players of the Golden Generation like Gamarra, Arce, Ayala and Chilavert retired, the country needed new hopefuls for the coming years. 

Players like Nelson Valdez, Julio dos Santos, José Montiel and Óscar Cardozo became the team's new key players. The new national team finished the 2009 CONMEBOL qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in third place. Even record world champion Brazil was defeated 2-0. In the preliminary round of the World Cup, Paraguay finished 1st after a win against Slovakia and two draws against Italy and New Zealand and met Japan in the final 16. After the regular playing time and extra time ended without a goal, the decision had to be made in a penalty shoot-out for the first time at the World Cup in South Africa. Paraguay won 5:3 in the shootout. It was Paraguay's first win in a penalty shoot-out, having previously lost in two penalty shoot-outs at the Copa America. It was the first time Paraguay had reached the quarter-finals of a World Cup and the first time four South American teams had reached the last eight of the tournament. In a dramatic match against Spain, in which both teams were awarded a penalty kick within 2 minutes and missed, Paraguay lost 0:1.

In 2011, Paraguay reached a single Copa America final for the first time. Paraguay only managed two wins in the entire tournament, both on penalties. After three draws, they survived the group stage as one of the two best third-placed teams in the group. They played 0-0 in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals and won both penalty shoot-outs, the first of which they won 2-0 against Brazil. In the final against Uruguay, however, Paraguay had no chance and lost 3-0.

The national team failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, finishing last in the South America group with only twelve points (Uruguay reached the play-off with 25 points).

Participation in World Cups

Paraguay participated in seven World Cup finals. They were eliminated several times in qualifying, including once against the eventual world champions. Since South American qualifying has been played in a league system between all South American CONMEBOL members, Paraguay have always qualified except for disappointing finishes in the 2014 and 2018 Eliminatorias. So far, however, the team has not progressed beyond the quarter-finals. Paraguay lost 1-0 three times in the knockout rounds, including twice to eventual world champions France and Spain and in 2002 to eventual runners-up Germany. In 2010, Paraguay beat the reigning world champions Italy, among others, in the group stage.

Record scorers

José Saturnino Cardozo had been the record scorer since 5 September 2001 when he scored 13 and 14 goals in the match against Bolivia, beating the record set by Saturnino Arrúa and Julio César Romero. On 9 July 2011, Roque Santa Cruz set his record of 25 goals in a 2-2 draw with Brazil in the Copa América and surpassed it on 7 June 2013 when he scored an 89th-minute equaliser in a 2-1 draw with Chile in a World Cup qualifier.