Paraguay squad World Cup 2026: Gustavo Alfaro's final 26-man selection (original) (raw)

Paraguay's players jog during a training session at the High-Performance Center (CARDE) ahead of the friendly farewell match against Nicaragua with a view to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in Ypane, Paraguay on May 30, 2026. (Photo by DANIEL DUARTE / AFP)

Paraguay's players jog during a pre-World Cup training session (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Paraguay World Cup 2026 squad is shaping up as the former regulars return to the big stage after failing to qualify for the last three tournaments.

Paraguay started their World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign with one point from their first three matches but home wins against both Argentina and Brazil set them on the road to the World Cup. One of the lesser-fancied squads in the tournament might be in line to produce a few more shocks.

They claimed the last automatic spot from the South American confederation, finishing 10 points behind CONMEBOL group winners and possible World Cup favourites Argentina.

Defender Omar Alderete is making waves in the Premier League with Sunderland and both Diego Gomez (Brighton & Hove Albion) and Gustavo Caballero (Portsmouth) play in England. All three were in the latest squad.

Miguel Almiron, now back in MLS with Atlanta United, was a popular figure during his years as a Newcastle United player. Diego Leon, 14 years his junior, is on the books of Manchester United and has already been capped, though he wasn't included in the most recent selection.

Paraguay are captained by Palmeiras captain Gustavo Gomez, a former AC Milan centre-back with more 88 senior international caps to his name and league titles in Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil on his CV.

Julio Enciso, the talented young attacking midfielder who joined BlueCo and Strasbourg from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer of 2025, scored three goals in Paraguay’s qualification campaign. In all, he has scored four goals in 31 senior internationals.

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Squad

Paraguay World Cup 2026 squad

Fixtures

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Group D standings

Paraguay are in Group D at World Cup 2026.

Manager

Who is Paraguay's manager?

YPANE, PARAGUAY - JUNE 4: Coach of Paraguay, Gustavo Alfaro, speaks at a press conference prior to the friendly match against Nicaragua before the team's trip to the United States for the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches at the High Performance Sports Center (CARDE) on June 4, 2026 in Ypane, Paraguay. (Photo by Christian Alvarenga/Getty Images)

Gustavo Alfaro (Image credit: Getty Images)

Paraguay’s head coach is the vastly experienced Argentinian Gustavo Alfaro, who made the shift into international football with Ecuador in 2020 and had a spell in charge of Costa Rica in between.

With the exception of a few months in the Saudi Pro League, Alfaro spent the entirety of his club management career in Argentina. His longest and most successful tenure by far was with Arsenal de Sarandi, with whom he won the Clausura and the Copa Sudamericana.

Alfaro was Ecuador’s coach at the last World Cup, where they beat hosts Qatar and drew with the Netherlands but ultimately fell short in the group stage.

Star player

Who is Paraguay's star player?

Antonio Sanabria of Paraguay in action during the international friendly match between Japan and Paraguay at Panasonic Stadium Suita on October 10, 2025 in Suita, Osaka, Japan.

Antonio Sanabria in action against Japan (Image credit: Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

Antonio Sanabria, who joined newly promoted Serie A side Cremonese from Torino in 2025 and is competing with Jamie Vardy and Federico Bonazzoli in a surprisingly well-stocked front line, enjoyed a breakout qualifying campaign.

The former Real Betis forward netted four times including winners against Bolivia and Venezuela, and the equaliser in Paraguay’s 2-1 home win against runaway group winners Argentina.

Sanabria has been a senior international since 2013 but won twice as many caps in 2025 as he had in any single previous calendar year. Almost all of his international goals have come in home qualifiers in Asuncion. He’ll be hoping the most recent one, scored in the United States, will be a sign of things to come.

Best XI

Award-winning Argentinian football writer and professor of journalism. From El Gráfico to La Gazzetta dello Sport, BBC Sport, 11Freunde and The Players’ Tribune, his work has been published in more than 25 countries and translated into 20 languages. He fell in love with FourFourTwo at the end of the last century, on his first visit to Britain, and has been a correspondent since 2000. He has covered four World Cups and one Olympic Games. A devoted follower of European football, he still dreams of attending a Champions League final and visiting Anfield. Director of the AIPS Sport Media Awards, the leading international prize in sports journalism, he is also a very good player... on Football Manager