Paraguay earned their place on football’s greatest stage by going back to their roots: defensive strength and collective intensity. For years the team tried to play a possession-based game without succeeding in either defence or attack. Then, in August 2024, Gustavo Alfaro arrived with a clear message from day one, what he called “Paraguayan DNA, intensity and clean sheets. That’s what will take us to the World Cup”. He was not wrong. 

The Argentinian coach remained faithful to the 4-4-2 formation in almost every match, only switching to a back five in the high-altitude games against Ecuador and Bolivia. At the World Cup he seems most likely to favour that classic 4-4-2, with perhaps an occasional 4-2-3-1.

Since replacing Daniel Garnero – sacked after a dismal Copa América – Alfaro has transformed the team. From his very first match, away against Uruguay in Montevideo, Paraguay looked a different side. Subsequent home victories against Brazil and Argentina convinced even the biggest skeptics that the “new” Albirroja was real.

Away from home Paraguay have lost only once under Alfaro, against Brazil. They earned heroic draws in Bolivia, 4,100m above sea level, in Ecuador at 2,800m, and in the suffocating heat and humidity of Barranquilla against Colombia. Qualification was sealed with a tense 0-0 draw at home against Ecuador. The result triggered national euphoria. The celebrations were so intense the country’s president, Santiago Peña, declared the following day a national holiday.

While Paraguay’s greatest strength lies in their intensity and physicality, they can also produce good football, building smoothly from the back and relying on the game-changing talent of Julio Enciso.

What should we expect from Paraguay’s fans?

Travel agencies in Paraguay are offering round-trip packages to the United States that include tickets to all three group-stage matches, with prices starting from US$20,000. Considering the average monthly wage in the country is around $450 it is an enormous sum of money. Nevertheless, thousands of Paraguayans fans are expected to make the journey to support La Albirroja at the World Cup after a 16-year absence. The streets of Inglewood and Santa Clara are likely to be filled with red, white and blue – not the stars and stripes, but the traditional Tricolor of Paraguay and the Albirroja jersey. And those colors will be joined by the iconic chanting: “La Albirroooo, la Albirroooo, la Albirroja, la Albirroooo!” on repeat.

This is a piece from Christian Perez and Óscar Gómez for VS Sports as part of the Guardian Sports Network