Paraguay disappoints in South Africa

There was nothing formidable about the Albirroja that presented itself in almost full force in Pretoria, South Africa. We suffered a terrible 3-0 defeat, raising concerns about our performance when one or two regular players are away.

Our starting team varied little from that which has carried Paraguay to the top of the South American World Cup Qualifiers.
Paraguay: Villar, Delio Toledo, Morel Rodriguez, Manzur, Carlos Bonet, Edgar Barreto, Victor Caceres, Johan Santana, Haedo, and Santa Cruz. The change over in Paraguay came with three players, all with international experience. They are Toledo, Manzur, and Santana.

South Africa played very aggressively from the first minute and imposed its football in a clear and deserved victory. Not much to say for Paraguay, Santa Cruz left early in the game after he was injured by Blackburn team-mate and South Africa captain Aaron Mokoena. He was replaced by Benfica-based top-scorer, Oscar “Tacuara” Cardozo, but he had few shots on goal and little else.

Julio Cesar Caceres, Paulo da Silva, and Salvador Cabañas were the most significant absences of the day. Caceres did not appear at the request of his club, Boca Juniors (Argentina). Paulo da Silva and Cabañas were not called.

Delio Toledo (Kayserispor, Turkey) made his first appearance in a year. We will probably be seeing a lot more of him in upcoming friendly games. He is likely to replace the suspended Morel Rodriguez in the qualifier game against Brazil.

Manager Martino promoted brand new players against South Africa. Domestic players, Luis Caceres (19), Rodrigo Burgos (18), and Reinaldo Roman (23) made their international debut. Like Morel Rodriguez, Cristian Riveros won’t be playing in June because of a suspension, so L.Caceres and Burgos, both midfielders, could be fighting for a slot on the starting team against Brazil. L.Caceres is reported to have performed well against South Africa.

Paraguay will have time to improve their form at the Kirin Cup, to be held in the Japan this April.