Copa eliminated → Alfa will be transformed into the World Cup finals against Korea, which will be decided by a small difference
Oct 13, 2025
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In an official press conference against Korea held at Goyang Stadium on the 13th, Alfaro said, `After passing the South American qualifying round, I have wanted a strong opponent to play in the 2026 North-China World Cup finals. Korea (23rd) is ranked higher by FIFA than Paraguay (37th). It is important to make up for the shortcomings revealed in the match against Japan. I'm looking forward to the match against Korea."
Paraguay succeeded in advancing to the finals in sixth place in the South American qualifying round for the 2026 North American World Cup. He scored only 14 goals in 18 games, but succeeded in securing a ticket to the finals by playing a salty defense with 10 goals. In particular, he showed impressive performance by defeating Argentina and Brazil one after another during the qualifying period. In a friendly match against Japan in Osaka on the 10th, he proved his performance that could not be ignored, leading 2-1 but losing points in the second half and ending up in a draw.
Alfaro, who took the helm of Paraguay in August last year, has since achieved an outstanding performance of 6 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss in 10 Latin American qualifiers. Paraguay, which was eliminated at the bottom of the group stage in Copa America last year, has succeeded in reaching the World Cup finals as it has rapidly emerged as a dark horse since the appointment of Alfaro.
"Paraguay has reached the finals for the first time in 16 years," Alfaro said. It was a great slope not only for the national team but also for the country as a whole." In addition to selecting the best players in each game, it is important to maintain the best condition. Fighting spirit has also become an important factor in Paraguay's history-making process." "I hope the players' fighting spirit will be displayed not only against Japan but also against Korea," he said. There was not much time to prepare for the game, such as moving. I needed time to recover after the Japanese match. I was physically tired"Korea is an excellent team in terms of organizational power and good physicality. I know that it is a team that pursues a straightforward game compared to Japan. It's raining today, and I think we should prepare for this in tomorrow's game as well. It is expected that the match will be decided by a small difference."
Paraguay midfielder Damian Bobadilla of Sao Paulo, who was present with Alfaro, said "The match against Korea will be a difficult match. I know that the level of Korean players is high. We are growing as a team. I'm happy to play against a good team, and I'm looking forward to it." He said, `Korea has many high-quality players. In particular, I am looking forward to Son Heung-min (LAFC). We need to prepare for players with good balance such as Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain). The same goes for Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich). As there are many world-class players, we have to prepare well."
Paraguay's national team held its last training session in preparation for the match against Korea at Goyang Stadium with only the first 15 minutes of training.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
