The Paraguayan national team is crowned champion of the CONMEBOL U-17 Women’s Championship 2025 for the first time in history. The decisive goal came in the 94th minute from Claudia Martínez, the tournament’s top scorer. Her strike sealed the 1-0 victory over Ecuador in the U-17 Women’s Football tournament in Cali, Colombia.
A last-minute triumph
The Albirroja , led by Brazilian coach Luiz Guilherme Almeida, clinched a dramatic victory deep into injury time, when Alisson Bareiro recovered the ball in the opposition’s half. The Paraguayan striker then delivered a precise pass to Martínez. With determination, she struck with the outside of her right foot to break the tie and unleash the Guaraní celebration. The late win was the icing on the cake for Paraguay, who even with a draw would have been champions.
With this result, Paraguay finished the final table with 11 points, two ahead of runner-up Brazil and three ahead of third-place Ecuador.
An emotional homecoming
Until now, Paraguay’s best performance had been third place achieved three times. In the 2008, 2013, and 2016 editions there was bronze for the Albirroja.
Paraguay’s Silvio Pettirossi International Airport was adorned in red and white colours as family, friends, and fans gathered to welcome the champions home after their historic performance. Clapping, jumping, holding signs, and radiating excitement and pride, the Paraguayan public made sure the players felt the nation’s love.
In an emotional reunion with their loved ones, the girls proudly wore their medals. They lifted the trophy and celebrated their triumph on home soil. The team was honoured, as the nation rooted for them in support of their next global challenge. This will be the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The journey to U-17 Women’s football gold
Although the team already secured its spot in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2025, the title of South American champion underlines the strong momentum of the Albirroja squad. And the team stands not alone in this. Also Paraguay men’s team has been showing strenght, moving up in the FIFA rankings.
In their journey to gold Paraguay U-17 opened the group stage with a 2-0 win over Argentina, but struggled to maintain a winning rhythm. The team drew with Chile (2-2), lost to Venezuela (1-2), and tied with host nation Colombia (1-1), qualifying for the final stage in second place.
The final round
Everything changed in the final round. The team showed an amazing transformation, delivering an outstanding performance with three wins and two draws. The girls held Brazil and Chile to 1-1 draws in the first two matches. From there, the Guaraní side took control of the tournament with a dominant 7-1 victory over Peru, a 1-0 win over Colombia, and finally the decisive triumph over Ecuador!
