Paraguay vs Colombia

Estadio Defensores del Chaco is the venue as Paraguay and Colombia go head-to-head in an exciting 2026 World Cup qualifying fixture.

Seeing Paraguay occupying the inter-confederation playoff spot in the CONMEBOL qualifying group after five rounds does look surprising, considering ‘Los Guaranies’ have failed to get on the scoresheet in four out of five 2026 World Cup qualifiers (W1, D2, L2. A 1-0 home win over the continent’s worst side, Bolivia, remains the only exception after Daniel Garnero’s team held Chile to a scoreless away draw last time out despite being forced to play with ten men for over 45 minutes. But after missing out on the three previous World Cups, the Paraguayans are under pressure, especially as they go up against a Colombia side they’ve not won against across their last four H2Hs (D2, L2).

Given Paraguay’s perennial scoring problems, it’s barely surprising that Colombia registered four clean sheets across those four encounters. Likewise, ‘Los Cafeteros’ have racked up three shutouts in five 2026 World Cup qualifiers (W2, D3) but not in the last one. Nestor Lorenzo’s men came from behind to beat continental powerhouse Brazil 2-1 as Luis Diaz netted a brace on his first return to his homeland since the kidnapping of his parents. That result extended Colombia’s outrageous unbeaten run in all competitions to 16 matches, stretching back to March 2022. But since their only 2026 World Cup qualifiers ended 0-0 and their last four H2Hs all featured under 2.5 goals, it stands to reason that another low-scoring contest could be in store.