All Paraguayans get time off work thanks to World Cup

Paraguayan President Santiago Pena declared September 5 a national holiday to celebrate the football team's qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

Paraguay star Almiron - Photo: REUTERS

Paraguay became the 16th team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which is also the last official ticket from the South American region.

The result came after a 0-0 draw against Ecuador - who had already qualified before the 17th round of South American qualifying - as well as Venezuela's defeat to Argentina.

Thanks to the 1 point, Paraguay firmly holds the 6th position on the rankings, 7 points ahead of 7th place Venezuela while there is only 1 match left in the qualifying round.

The 2026 World Cup has been expanded to 48 teams, and South America has also increased its official tickets from 4 to 6. Thanks to that, Paraguay has won a ticket to return to the world football festival after 16 years of waiting.

In a jubilant atmosphere, President Santiago Pena announced on social media with the following content:

"This is a dream come true for all Paraguayans, and that's why September 5 will be a day off, so all Paraguayans can celebrate together. We're back at the World Cup!"

In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Paraguay had a slow start, leading to the country's Football Federation decisively firing coach Garnero and appointing Gustavo Alfaro - a veteran Argentine strategist.

Immediately after being appointed, Mr. Alfaro created a miracle when he helped Paraguay go undefeated in 9 consecutive rounds of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, thereby winning a ticket to return to the number one playground on the planet.

Paraguay last played in the World Cup in 2010, reaching the quarter-finals that year. But for more than a decade, they have been helpless in the qualifying rounds, suffering from a lack of talent.

At present, Paraguay possesses a squad of players that is considered to be on par with the golden age of the 1990s - 2000s, with many notable stars such as Almiron, Diego Gomez, Sanabria...

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/toan-dan-paraguay-duoc-cho-nghi-lam-nho-world-cup-20250905201817331.htm