Following days of celebration after Paraguay’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup, the national football team face its final 2026 World Cup qualifying challenge. On the evening of Tuesday, 9 September 2025, Peru is the last opponent. The Albirroja kick off at 20:30 at the Estadio Nacional in Lima, with three players added to the squad that achieved a 0-0 draw against Ecuador on Thursday, a result that confirmed World Cup qualification.
With the ticket to the 2026 World Cup secured, Paraguay’s head coach Gustavo Alfaro has included three new players to replace those suspended. From the previous week’s lineup against Ecuador, three players are ineligible to play in Lima due to accumulated yellow cards: defender Junior Alonso, midfielder Andrés Cubas, and forward Miguel Almirón.
In this regard, Alfaro has selected Lucas Romero, a midfielder from Paraguay’s top-tier club Recoleta, Rodney Redes (Olimpia), and Blas Riveros of Cerro Porteño. Romero is making his debut call-up, which came unexpected for both the player, and his club. On the day of the announcement, Romero was carried onto the training pitch by his celebrating teammates, as seen on Recoleta’s Instagram account.
Peru: an opponent with a questionable record
Like in 2022 for Qatar, Peru will miss next year’s World Cup, watching from home. Peru scored just six goals in 17 qualifying matches, becoming the first team to fail to score at least one away goal in all of the South American qualifiers.
Paraguay must remain vigilant, as Peru remains determined to escape the embarrassment of last place. Peru head into their final matchday with a two-point lead over tail-ender Chile in the CONMEBOL standings, desperate to avoid finishing at the bottom. Their campaign has been colourless, embodied by the recent 3-0 loss to Uruguay on the night of Paraguay’s qualification triumph, now having failed to win in their last four matches (two draws, two losses).
A tough nut to crack
Irrespective of their form, Paraguay surprisingly have not beaten Peru since 2014 (3 draws, 9 losses since). The most recent clashes have been back-to-back goalless draws. Peru will be looking to build on their historic unbeaten record in Lima against the Paraguayan team in the final 2026 World Cup qualifying challenge.
