Overview
Both Paraguay and Venezuela are in fierce competition for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.
Venezuela is currently 7th in the South American qualifying standings, with Paraguay just one point behind. However, both teams will need to work harder to reach the top 6 if they want to qualify directly.
Paraguay started their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with a bit of a disappointment, but have since improved. Gustavo Alfaro's side drew with Uruguay, beat Brazil and most recently picked up a point against Ecuador. These important points have helped Paraguay get back on track, despite a difficult start.
As for Venezuela, they are the only CONMEBOL team that has never participated in the World Cup. Therefore, when the South American region has an additional place to participate, they set a very high determination.
This was confirmed by the result when they successfully held off two strong opponents, Uruguay and Argentina. Thereby, Venezuela continued to nurture the hope of participating in the World Cup for the first time.
In short, Paraguay and Venezuela will both fight their best to qualify. With the balance of power not too different, it is likely that the two teams will share points.
Paraguay and Venezuela have been used to meeting each other in World Cup qualifying campaigns in recent years. In the last 7 matches, each team has won 3 times, the remaining 1 match was a draw.
Paraguay have scored 2 goals in their last 9 matches, while Venezuela have only scored 2 goals in their last 4 away matches. Therefore, this could be a low-scoring match.
Human resources situation
Paraguay welcome back Diego Gomez and Junior Alonso from suspension. Both are expected to return to the starting line-up.
On the other side of the front line, Venezuela faced difficulties when midfielder Jose Martinez was suspended due to receiving enough yellow cards.
Expected lineup:
Paraguay: Fernandez, Balbuena, Gomez, Alderete, Caceres, Cubas, Bobadilla, Alonso, Almiron, Arce, Enciso.
Venezuela: Romo, Gonzalez, Osorio, Ferraresi, Aramburu, Castillo, Rincon, Herrera, Savarino, Rondon, Soltedo.
The match between Paraguay and Venezuela takes place at 6:00 a.m. on October 16 (Vietnam time).
