Paraguay's start to the 2026 World Cup could be described as a nightmare for Damian Bobadilla and his teammates, with an own goal in the 7th minute, and being 3-0 down to the USA by the end of the first half, thanks to a brace from Balogun.
Then, Mauricio brought joy to the Paraguayan fans in the stands with a goal to narrow the gap in the 73rd minute. However, in the final minutes of injury time, Reyna sealed a resounding 4-1 victory for the USA.
Thanks to improvements in defense, along with Galarza's early goal in the 2nd minute, Paraguay secured a valuable 1-0 victory against Türkiye.
It was a match where the South American team was down to ten men from the end of the first half, after Almiron received a red card for using his hand to cover his mouth while speaking to an opponent.
Meanwhile, Australia Australia also secured 3 points with a 2-0 victory over Türkiye in their opening match. In the second match, Australia lost to the USA by the same score, so their goal difference is now 0, placing them above Paraguay (-2).
If Australia secures one or three points against Paraguay, they will guarantee a place in the knockout round of this tournament for the second consecutive time, and the third time in six World Cups that they have advanced beyond the group stage.
On the other side of the pitch, Paraguay faces a challenge with the absence of their current top scorer – Almiron (suspended). History also seems to be against Paraguay, as they have never won two group stage matches at a World Cup.
Both ESPN and Sportskeeda football experts predict a 1-1 draw between Paraguay and Australia , while Sportsmole believes Australia will win 1-0 against Paraguay .
Predicted lineup:
Paraguay : Gill; Caceres, G Gomez, Alderete, Alonso; Velazquez, Cubas, D Gomez, Galarza; Pitta, Enciso.
Australia : Beach; Circati, Souttar, Burgess; Italiano, O'Neill, Okon-Engstler, Bos; Volpato, Toure, Iran.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/du-doan-bong-da-paraguay-vs-uc-bang-d-world-cup-2026-9h-ngay-26-6-2529112.html
