Antonio Sanabria’s remarkable bicycle kick and Omar Alderete’s header earned Paraguay a 2-1 victory over Argentina in Thursday’s South American World Cup qualifiers.
Argentina initially led after Lautaro Martinez converted Enzo Fernandez’s deep pass into a goal 11 minutes into the game. Despite an offside call, a VAR review later confirmed the goal.
Paraguay responded soon after, with Gustavo Gomez’s header hitting the crossbar. The momentum continued, leading to Sanabria executing a perfect bicycle kick from Gustavo Velazquez’s cross, beating goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Argentina struggled to recover. Messi, notably quiet, had minimal impact in the first half and missed his only shot.
Referee Anderson Daroco did not issue a second yellow card to Alderete, despite him fouling Messi twice before the break.
Striker Martinez commented post-match, “We controlled the game well but need to improve on set pieces. Their goals came from our mistakes,” as reported by TyC Sports.
Coach Lionel Scaloni stated, “The early second-half goal made things tough. We must credit the opponent’s strong defense.”
Argentina still leads the qualifiers with 22 points from 11 matches. They will next host Peru, which is currently ninth.
Paraguay stands sixth with 16 points, closely trailing Ecuador and Uruguay. Ecuador recently beat Bolivia 4-0, and Uruguay is set to face Colombia.
Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Venezuela puts them third with 17 points elsewhere.
The top six teams from these qualifiers will automatically enter the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
