Sanabria restores Paraguay’s World Cup hopes

A double from the forward Antonio Sanabriaof Turin Italian, gave this Tuesday an important 2-1 victory in Paraguay about Venezuela which put them in sixth place, in a match for the tenth day of the South American qualifier for the 2026 World Cup held in Asunción.

Paraguay came back thanks to Sanabria who equalized at 59, after Vinotinto opened the actions in the 25th minute with Jon Aramburu (Real Sociedad) and repeated the dose in the 74th minute, thus sentencing the Guaraní’s second win in the Gustavo era with Alfaro catapulting Albirroja into direct qualification positions for the 2026 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Venezuela has lost its way. He hasn’t won in six days. He was eighth with 11 points and left the privilege positions. Paraguay again pulled out all the stops and recorded a home win, after beating Brazil 1-0 on day eight. Alfaro’s students fired from the first moments of the game, illustrating the intensity of the commitment.

In a first half marked by fouls and several yellow cards that Chilean Piero Maza had to show in an attempt to calm things down, the Guaraníes tried to set the tone for the match against a Venezuelan team that did not abandon its lines. Julio Enciso and Miguel Almirón, the two Paraguayan stars in the English league, commanded the actions towards the Vinotinto area, which until then contained the Albirroja attack in its entirety.

This is how in the 14th minute Enciso quickly advanced down the wing and attempted a shot that Rafael Romo was able to control. A few minutes later it was Almirón’s turn, who headed the ball and sent it into the opposing goal.

And just when Paraguay seemed to be in control, a Venezuelan counterattack surprised the home side, stunned by a well-orchestrated play in the middle of the field by Yeferson Soteldo, who crossed from right to left with the ball dominating until he placed it in Aramburu. foot The Real Sociedad defender knew how to make the most of the opportunity with a shot from mid-range that put Venezuela ahead and just beyond the reach of the experienced Roberto Fernández.

Far from losing momentum, the Guaraní team sought to recover and insisted until they earned a penalty after a foul against Gustavo Gómez. However, Enciso squandered an opportunity to level the score in the 41st minute, with a low shot that ended up in the hands of the Venezuelan goalkeeper.

The return from the break brought two changes: Ángel Romero and Antonio Sanabria, whose presence breathed fresh air into Alfaro’s team. This is what Sanabria looked like in the 59th minute in one part of the area to collect a pass delivered by Junior Alonso, who took the heel that decorated Almirón’s night.

And in the 74th minute, the striker of the Italian club was again in front of the goal to complete a header a touch unsuccessfully attempted by Enciso and make it 2-1. The Defensores del Chaco erupted in joy and celebrated, after 15 years, two consecutive victories in a draw and, in the process, broke the record against Venezuela, which won its visits to Albirroja in 2012 and 2017.

The result pushes Paraguay to sixth place in the standings, with 13 points, while Venezuela is eighth, out of a play-off position, with 11.

TECHNICAL SHEET

2 – Paraguay: Roberto Fernandez; Juan Cáceres, Gustavo Gómez, Omar Alderete, Junior Alonso, Andrés Cubas, Diego Gómez (Damián Bobadilla, m.80), Miguel Almirón (Fabián Balbuena, m.80), Julio Enciso (Mathías Villasanti, m.88), Ramón Sosa (Ángel Romero, m.46) and Isidro Pitta (Antonio Sanabria, m.46).
1 – Venezuela: Rafael Romo; Nahuel Ferraresi (Jesús Ramírez, m.88), Jon Aramburu, Yangel Herrera, Jefferson Savarino (Jhonder Cádiz, m.66), Yeferson Soteldo, Darwin Machís (Eduard Bello, m.79), Eric Ramírez, Miguel Navarro, Cristian Cásseres (Telasco Segovia, m.80) and Salomón Rondón.
Objectives: 0-1, Jon Aramburu (m. 25); 1-1, Antonio Sanabria (d. 59); 2-1, Antonio Sanabria (m. 74)
Referee: The Chilean Piero Maza. He rebuked Navarro, Soteldo, Cásseres, Aramburu, Bello, Juan Cáceres and Alderete.
Events: Match in the tenth round of the South American qualifier for the 2026 World Cup played at the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asunción.