Preview: Paraguay vs. Bolivia - prediction, team news, lineups

Paraguay and Bolivia will both be aiming to record their first wins of the World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign when they meet each other on Tuesday.

Paraguay have one point from three matches so far, while Bolivia have lost all three of their games.

Match preview

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Indeed, Paraguay have not made the start to the current qualifying campaign which they would have been hoping for, having failed to score in any of their opening three matches.

The White and Red could not find a way past Peru in their opening match despite their opponents being reduced to 10 men for the entire second half, while successive 1-0 defeats away to Venezuela and Argentina have left them third from bottom in the table.

Finishing in the bottom three positions would mean Paraguay missing out on qualifying for the World Cup for the fourth successive time, which would represent quite the barren run having reached each of the previous four World Cup's, famously reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in 2010.

With six guaranteed qualification spots - plus one playoff tie for the seventh-ranked side - on offer as a result of the upcoming World Cup in North America being expanded from 32 to 48 teams, falling short would represent a major disappointment for them, with new manager Daniel Garnero hoping to improve his side's chances by claiming his first win in charge against Bolivia on Tuesday.

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After all, Bolivia have not qualified for a World Cup since 1994, with their only two previous appearances on international football's grandest stage coming in 1930 and 1950.

The Green are generally considered the whipping boys of South American football these days, with their current FIFA world ranking of 83rd reflecting that, especially as the next lowest-ranked sides within CONMEBOL are Paraguay in 52nd and Venezuela in 53rd.

Bolivia would have expected to be soundly beaten by Brazil and Argentina in their opening two matches, and that is exactly how things played out in the form of 5-1 and 3-0 defeats respectively, but their 2-1 loss at home to Ecuador on Friday was a particularly bitter pill for them to swallow.

With only seven minutes remaining, Rodrigo Ramallo looked to have claimed a vital point for the hosts when cancelling out Kendry Paez's opener, but Kevin Rodriguez struck in the sixth minute of injury time to break Bolivian hearts ahead of a crucial trip to Asuncion.

Team News

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Paraguay will remain without the services of Brighton & Hove Albion forward Julio Enciso, who is unlikely to feature for club or country again in 2023 due to a serious knee injury.

Torino striker Antonio Sanabria could return to the hosts' starting XI after only appearing from the bench during their defeat to Argentina last time out, meaning Adam Bareiro would drop to the bench. Sanabria has denied deliberately spitting at Lionel Messi during their recent encounter.

Bolivia, meanwhile, could reward Ramallo with a starting berth after his goalscoring impact from the bench against Ecuador, with head coach Gustavo Costas likely to be keen to freshen things up after their demoralising last-gasp defeat.

As such, it would be no surprise to see Gabriel Villamil return to the starting XI, too, in order to provide more creativity from the visitors' engine room.

Paraguay possible starting lineup:

Carlos; Balbuena, Gomez, Alonso; Ramirez, Campuzano, Sanchez, Acosta; Almiron, Sanabria, Sosa

Bolivia possible starting lineup:

Viscarra; Medina, Roca, Haquin, Sagredo; Ramallo, Villamil, Justiniano, Arrascaita; Abrego, Moreno

We say: Paraguay 2-1 Bolivia

With both sides sitting in the bottom three positions after making slow starts to the qualifying campaign, this already feels like a must-win match if they are to have a genuine chance of reaching the World Cup in less than three years' time.

As such, we expect to see a more entertaining encounter than may ordinarily be expected, with Paraguay hoping to let loose having failed to score in their opening three games. We are predicting a narrow home victory, meaning Bolivia's losing streak would continue.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.