Many Paraguayan children dream of seeing their national team play in a World Cup and now, after visiting the FIFA Museum in Asuncion, it feels a little more real as they look forward to their country being back on the biggest stage of all.
Paraguay have played in seven World Cups, including the first in 1930, but their last appearance was back in 2010 when they reached the quarter-finals.
In 2030 they will be back, and playing in Asuncion at the tournament, which will be hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco but will also feature matches in Uruguay and Argentina to commemorate the centenary of the first World Cup, hosted and won by Uruguay.
FIFA is holding its 75th Congress on today outside the Paraguayan capital, where CONMEBOL headquarters are located, and has sent its treasures – trophies, medals, jerseys, and soccer boots – to South America.
“I feel like I’m on the field touching the cup and that I’m playing. I feel like Paraguay won it”, nine-year-old Franco Caballero told Reuters, as he excitedly walked through the exhibit minutes after its inauguration.
Paraguay, which played in four consecutive World Cups between 1998 and 2010, have not returned to the tournament since it was played in South Africa, where they lost in the quarter-finals to Spain, who went on to lift the trophy.
In the current South American qualifiers, Paraguay are in fifth place, which would give them a place in the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
“Honestly, I’m very excited because we used to watch the World Cup and Copa America finals on TV, we see the players raise the trophy, and now I’m seeing it in person”, said 12-year-old Mateo Torres after touring the venue.
