The Copa América 2021 is finally upon us having been postponed from 2020, reduced from 12 teams to 10 and then rejected by its original hosts before finally ending up in four cities in Brazil. Paraguay find themselves in Group A alongside Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina and will play their games Goiânia, Brasília and Rio de Janeiro. Here we’ll preview the squad and their chances while also looking at some historical stats surrounding Paraguay in the Copa América against these opponents and in these cities (SPOILER ALERT: Goiânia doesn’t hold happy memories!).
The Squad
Paraguay confirmed a 28-man squad for the world’s longest-running national team tournament on Thursday with just four changes from the recent World Cup Qualifiers where they took on Uruguay and Brazil. Juan Escobar removed himself for personal reasons, there are rumours that the Cruz Azul defender was unhappy at being considered third choice by Berizzo but others have reported a pending legal case that he needs to resolve. Another defender Alexis Duarte missed out and will be doing a full preseason with Cerro Porteño. Finally the fourth goalkeeper Juan Espínola and Libertad’s Hugo Martínez were not considered.
Strength in Defence
Despite conceding six goals in their three home WCQs to date, this current crop do have strength at the back and have generally become more organized under Marcelo Bielsa’s former assistant. Gustavo Gómez is the captain and in the past two games against Luis Suárez and a rampant Brazil he showed the kind of form that has made him a hero in Palmeiras and one of South America’s leading centrebacks. Alongside him the Albirroja can field another one of Brazil’s leading defenders in Junior Alonso or Bundesliga & Premier League players in Omar Alderete and Fabián Balbuena. Such riches in the heart of the defence tempted Berizzo into playing three at the back against Brazil although we’re unlikely to see that kind of set up in the group stages where four out of the five sides qualify.
Midfield Balance
Further up the field the cracks begin to appear in this side who began with a more expansive style that also saw them concede goals (notably 2-2 draws at home to Peru and Bolivia). As they have tried to become more solid in the middle with the Pika Lucena and Mathías Villasanti pairing that has worked so well at Cerro Porteño they have lost some of that creative spark. Finding the right balance in the middle has been difficult, many fans and journalists have been calling for the inclusion of Club América’s Richard Sánchez who is more of a box-to-box player. Gastón Giménez has started all six WCQs so far but other than his well-taken goal against Venezuela he has been shackled and unable to create much. A different option for Berizzo could be the talented Alejandro “Kaku” Romero.
False strikers
In the hope to achieve mobility and pace on the counter attack with a more direct and fluid forward line there has been a lack of a traditional number 9 leading the line. Dario Lezcano was preferred in early games while Tonny Sanabria made one start against Bolivia but neither will be in Brazil. Ángel Romero has led the line valiantly in this month’s matches but all these uses of “False nines” doesn’t seem to have clicked. Both Gabriel Ávalos and Carlos González are on the bench and would offer a much more physical presence in attack and should be able to hold the ball up more with their back to goal. A wilcard option would be to throw the teenage sensation Julio Enciso into the mix, the 17-year-old is even younger than Roque Santa Cruz when he played the Copa América opener against Bolivia in 1999.
Expectations
Pressure has been building recently with the team now four games without a win and seemingly struggling to find a style with the ball despite good signs of better organization. The opening game against Bolivia is a must win fixture to settle the nerves and will almost certainly ensure particpation in the knockout stages with four of the five sides qualifying. Nobody is expected much more than that from this Albirroja side in transition, moreso than results there is a desire for Berizzo to set up his side correctly from the start. It is telling that in his ten competitive games so far the Albirroja have only won the first half on three occassions (twice versus Argentina and Qatar). The tinkering, like playing Mathías Villasanti wide on the right against Brazil, has backfired so with a relatively long preparation and four guaranteed games we expect to see something more cohesive in possession.
Copa América History
Paraguay will be playing their 175th* Copa América game on Monday night against Bolivia, a team they have faced ten times in this competition, winning seven and drawing twice. The only defeat came in Cochabamba in 1963 the year that Bolivia hosted and won the tournament. Their only previous meeting in a Copa América hosted in Brazil was the 1949 edition in Rio de Janeiro, the Albirroja ran out 7-0 victors in the São Januário with Jorge Duilio Benítez netting four times. To this day he is the only Paraguayan to score four in a single game for the Albirroja.
That said the game is in Goiânia where Paraguay’s only game was a 0-6 reverse to a Tele Santana’s rampant Brazil side in a 1980 friendly, they were blown away by Zico and Socrates that day. It will be their first game in Brasilia, while Rio de Janeiro has hosted the Albirroja on 32 occasions having won seven times and twice versus Uruguay.
We know Paraguay enjoy a draw, having tied three of their last four games and famously reaching the 2011 Copa América final with five consecutive drawn contests, but it isn’t a new phenomenon – their 44 draws is more than any other side in the history of the tournament!
Against the other group rivals the recent record is rather concerning, in their last 18 games against the trio of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay they’ve only won once, that was the 3-0 victory over Chile in the first leg of the 1979 Final which was also the last time the Guaraní won the title. At this point I’m obliged to remind you all that Paraguay have NEVER beaten the Albiceleste in this competition, 25 games and counting.
We’ll have more stats and facts on Twitter and Guaraní Vision, and of course in match previews right here on this blog!
*Assuming you include the random two qualifiers in 1966!
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