Confirmed lineups for Chile vs Paraguay for the 2026 Qualifiers duel

The fifth day of the South American Qualifiers heading to World Cup 2026, which will take place in Mexico, the United States and Canada, starts this Thursday, November 16 with several key matches. One of them is the Chile vs Paraguaywhich will take place at the Monumental stadium in Santiago and will be transcendent for the ambitions of both teams.

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At the moment, both the ‘roja‘ as the ‘albirroja‘They share the same place in the World Cup circuit table of locations Conmebol. Both have four units; Therefore, the next match can represent a true turning point for the winner, as well as for the loser.

Chile National Team: Brayan Cortes; Gary Medel, Guillermo Maripán, Gabriel Suazo, Paulo Díaz; Rodrigo Echeverría, Erick Pulgar, Alexis Sánchez; Víctor Dávila, Ben Brereton and Damián Pizarro.

Paraguay Selection: Miguel Coronel; Robert Rojas, Gustavo Gómez, Omar Aldrete, Matías Espinoza; Andrés Cubas, Mathias Villasanti, Diego Gómez, Matías Rojas; Gabriel Ávalos and Antonio Sanabria.

The strategist Eduardo Berizzo faces a very important challenge for its future. In the previous qualifying window he was badly shaken after his team were beaten 3-0 at the hands of Venezuela in a result that astonished the entire region. From then on, the National Professional Soccer Association (ANFP) has been evaluating his situation and even gave an ultimatum to the strategist of Chile on this last double date of 2023.

Totally opposite story emerges in Paraguay. Although the beginning was absolutely bumpy with Guillermo Barros Schelotto at the head, the Paraguayan Football Association (APF) took action on the matter immediately and dismissed him to give the position to Daniel Garnerowho in his second game as coach of the ‘albirroja‘He achieved the first victory in the Qualifiers 2026 by taking Bolivia ahead, at the Defensores del Chaco stadium.

In the run-up to the qualifying clash, both the Berizzo y Garnero They have key absences. From the local side they will not be able to count on the midfielder Diego Valdes following a muscle injury to the left calf. Throughout the process he has been a starter in all the games and has scored a goal against Peruat the Estadio Monumental David Arellano stadium.

Other southern elements that have been ruled out for the third window of the South American Qualifiers 2026 son Williams Alarcon, Benjamin Kuscevic, Charles Aranguiz y Francisco Sierralta. All of them still have physical discomfort and will watch actions from the stands.

For its part, Paraguay will not have a fundamental footballer in its system: Miguel Almiron. The skillful steering wheel of Newcastle He has a first-degree muscle injury in the biceps femoris of his right thigh. Along these lines, we must also highlight the drop in Julio Encisowho has a torn meniscus that has left him on the sidelines of all sporting activities until the beginning of 2024.

The technician of the ‘roja‘has stirred up the hornet’s nest by carrying out a real renewal in his last appointment. He has called nine medalists from the 2023 Pan American Games with the idea that they add minutes on the fifth and sixth rounds of the World Cup qualifying process. They are: Brayan Cortes, Alexander Aravena, Damian Pizarro, Vicente Pizarro, Matías Zaldivia, Maximiliano Guerrero, Alfred Canales, Cesar Perez y Felipe Loyola.

Meanwhile, the ‘albirroja‘has struck a chord by calling a veteran warrior of a thousand battles who is still scoring goals on Guaraní soil: Oscar Cardozo. At 40 years old and recently champion with Freedom Clubhe ‘Tacuara‘ responded to Garnero’s call to provide experience and offensive arguments in the last qualifying combo of 2023. His 23 goal shouts support his call.

Relying on a 4-3-3 scheme, Berizzo would start by giving the responsibility of the goal to Brayan Cortes. In the defensive zone they would use Matías Catalán, Gary Medel, Guillermo Maripan y Gabriel Suazo. In the midfield they would be Rodrigo Echeverria y Erick Pulgar; while as a creative flyer it would be Alexis Sanchez. Finally the offensive trident would be made up of Victor Davila, Ben Brereton y Damian Pizarro.

With the latest training sessions carried out at the Ypané High Performance Center, Garnero would opt for a 4-1-3-2 structure embodied in Miguel Coronel; Robert Rojas, Gustavo Gomez, Omar Aldrete, Matias Espinoza; Andrés Cubas; Matias Villasanti, Diego Gomez, Matias Rojas; Gabriel Avalos y Antonio Sanabria.