A scoreless draw doesn’t usually stop a city in its tracks. In Asunción on September 4, it did. Paraguay’s 0-0 against Ecuador at the packed Estadio Defensores del Chaco was the point that pushed La Albirroja back to the 2026 World Cup after 16 long years. Car horns, fireworks, and tears did the talking as a new generation finally earned its moment.
A point that changed everything
This was Matchday 17 in CONMEBOL qualifying, and the stakes were heavy. With six direct places available and one playoff berth, Paraguay needed to avoid a slip at home. The draw got them exactly that: the sixth and final automatic spot. The math in the table tells the story — Argentina on 38 points, Brazil at 28, Uruguay 27, Ecuador 26, Colombia 25, and Paraguay 25. Tiebreakers broke Paraguay’s way, closing the door on the chasers with one game left.
Ecuador, steady and stubborn under Sebastián Beccacece, arrived with a clear plan: protect their cushion, control the pace, and make Paraguay chase. They did it well. Captain Hernán Galíndez organized from the back, Piero Hincapié and Willian Pacho read danger early, and the visitors were rarely rushed into mistakes. By full time, Ecuador had what they came for too — a ticket to North America secured.
For Paraguay, this was not about flair. It was about nerve. Gustavo Alfaro set his side up to suffer smart. Gustavo Gómez marshaled the back line with Junior Alonso and Omar Alderete around him, and they gave little away. In front of them, Andrés Cubas and Diego Gómez clogged lanes, while Miguel Almirón and Matías Rojas (with Ángel Cardozo Lucena’s industry when needed) tried to pry open spaces. Up front, Antonio Sanabria and Adam Bareiro did the running and the fouling that buys time on a night like this.
Chances were thin. The match swung between fouls, long diagonals, and half-threats that never quite turned into shots on target. The tension, though, was constant. Every clearance felt like a small win. Every second scraped off the clock drew the crowd closer to the party waiting outside.
When Alfaro turned to his bench — José Domingo Salcedo Gamarra, Blas Armoa, Matías Galarza, and Alex Arce — the idea didn’t change. Keep the shape, manage the risk, chase any moment that falls your way. The moment, it turned out, was the final whistle.
What followed was predictable and deserved. Thousands poured into the streets, the red-white-and-blue flooding downtown Asunción. President Santiago Peña made it official, declaring September 5 a national holiday. For a country that waited since 2010, that felt right.
Matías Galarza put it simply. “Sixteen years ago I was in school watching Paraguay at the World Cup,” he said, still processing it. “I never thought I’d be part of the team bringing us back.” That line landed because it captured the night. This wasn’t a win. It was bigger.
If you’re old enough, you remember the last time Paraguay stood on this stage. South Africa 2010, quarterfinals, a fierce fight with Spain, Óscar Cardozo’s saved penalty, and a narrow 1-0 exit to the eventual champions. Before that, a run of three straight World Cups in 1998, 2002, and 2006 built a reputation for tough defending, aerial power, and discipline. Then came the long gap — misses in 2014, 2018, 2022 — and a generation in the stands rather than on the grass.
Alfaro’s arc adds an edge to the story. He guided Ecuador at the last World Cup cycle and now has taken Paraguay past the same hurdle, this time with a different badge on his chest. His blueprint was clear all year: make Paraguay hard to beat first, then build from there. The clean sheet against Ecuador was more than a stat. It was the plan, executed under pressure.
- Result: Paraguay 0-0 Ecuador at Defensores del Chaco, Asunción
- Direct qualifiers so far: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Paraguay
- Format: CONMEBOL sends six directly; seventh goes to an intercontinental playoff
- Next up: Paraguay finish away to Peru; Ecuador also close out on Matchday 18
Ecuador’s piece of this is worth a nod. They have navigated a tight table with patience. Young talent like Kendry Páez gives them flair between the lines, while the spine — Galíndez, Pacho, Hincapié, and Enner Valencia’s leadership up front — keeps them stable. In Asunción, they took the air out of the game and walked away with the point that sealed their own path to North America.
Paraguay’s players won’t care how the ticket was stamped. They did the hard yards: close games, narrow leads, the late tackles that matter more in September than in March. Gustavo Gómez led by example. Almirón carried the ball out of tight spaces when needed. The midfield knew when to kick and when to pass. It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t meant to be.
What changes now? For one, the mood. After years of near misses, there’s a base to build on. There’s time to tune the attack, decide on a settled front two, and sharpen set pieces that can swing tight games at the World Cup. There’s also a chance for the federation to sort logistics — camps in the U.S., scouting of group opponents, and support for a fan base already plotting trips to the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
It also helps to remember what the expanded tournament means. With 48 teams and a new structure, the line between a good group and a brutal one will be thin. Paraguay won’t scare on name value alone. They’ll need the same edge that got them through qualifying: tight lines, fast transitions, and a bit of bravery in both boxes.
What this means back home — and what comes next
In the stands, this was a release. Families who watched Roque Santa Cruz and Salvador Cabañas a decade and a half ago now get to introduce kids to a live World Cup run. The national holiday cements the feeling: this wasn’t just a point, it was a reset for a team that used to make this seem routine.
There’s still one qualifier left — an away date against Peru — and a small chance to climb a spot if results fall kindly. But the real job is already done. The staff can manage minutes, avoid suspensions, and fine-tune roles before the long build-up begins.
On Thursday morning, Asunción will wake up to a country officially off work and very much on cloud nine. A goalless draw usually fades fast. This one will be remembered for years. Paraguay are back where they believe they belong.