Two teams separated by just a single point in CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualifying square off on Tuesday as Colombia look to get their campaign back on track when they host Paraguay at Estadio Metropolitano.
A goal conceded in the dying minutes Thursday saw the Colombians lose 2-1 at Brazil, dropping them down to sixth in the table, narrowly below La Albirroja, who blanked Chile 1-0.
Match preview
The Colombian qualification campaign, which began promisingly, has taken a turn over the past few months as they seek to make their first finals appearance since 2018.
Nestor Lorenzo's men have lost their last three qualifying fixtures after claiming at least a point in their first eight matches of this cycle.
As things stand, they are holding down the final automatic position in CONMEBOL qualifying, with Bolivia six points below them and five matches remaining.
Los Cafeteros have dropped five points in this qualification cycle when scoring first but have also picked up four points when conceding the opener.
So far in qualifying, 13 of their 19 points collected have come at home, with their last one occurring on matchday 10 at Estadio Metropolitano over Chile (4-0).
The 2024 Copa America runners-up are unbeaten in their last six meetings with Paraguay across all competitions, with La Sele beating them 2-1 in the group stage of that tournament the last time out.
While the Colombian campaign has slowed down the Paraguayan one has picked up, with this team unbeaten in seven successive qualifiers.
Changing coaches after they exited the Copa America in the group stage last year seems to have turned them around, with Gustavo Alfaro unbeaten as the new manager.
Their recent form has rekindled their hopes of making it to the World Cup finals for the first time since 2010, with Paraguay seven points clear of Bolivia for an automatic berth in Canada, the United States and Mexico next year.
They got themselves back into the hunt for a World Cup spot thanks to their defensive shape, conceding the second-fewest goals in CONMEBOL so far.
Paraguay have needed to rely on their backline to keep them above the qualification line as they have struggled to find the back of the net, scoring the joint second-fewest goals in South America so far (nine).
La Albirroja are unbeaten in their last two World Cup qualifying fixtures played in Colombia, coming away with a 0-0 draw in 2021 and winning 2-1 in October 2017.
Team News
Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera remains sidelined for Colombia due to a torn ACL, while Juan Cabal is out for that same reason.
Two Colombians, Marino Hinestroza and Johan Carbonero, were unused substitutes against Brazil and are both looking to make their first appearances with the national team.
Luis Diaz netted their only goal on Thursday, the 17th internationally for the Liverpool man, moving him beyond Carlos Bacca for sixth all-time, while he now has just one fewer than the late Freddy Rincon, who is fifth.
An injury to Gustavo Gomez will keep the Paraguay captain out of this clash, while Hugo Cuenca is sidelined with a muscle issue with his replacement being Ruben Lezcano.
Four Paraguayans, Rodney Redes, Lezcano, Ronaldo de Jesus and Orlando Gill, are currently seeking their first international caps.
Omar Alderete of Getafe had the only goal against Chile, but it was all they would need as Roberto Fernandez made three stops to collect a clean sheet.
Colombia possible starting lineup:
Vargas; Munoz, Cuesta, Lucumi, Mojica; Rios, Lerma; Arias, Rodriguez, Diaz; Duran
Paraguay possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Caceres, Balbuena, Alderete, Alonso; Galarza, Villasanti, Cubas, Almiron; Sanabria, Enciso
We say: Colombia 2-1 Paraguay
Colombia will present a much stiffer attacking challenge you would think for Paraguay, and we expect the home side's talent and experience will help them defeat a compact defensive unit.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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