The Paraguayan soccer player, Diego Gómez, 23 years old and a player for English Brighton, could not contain his tears when referring to Albirroja’s qualification for a World Cup after 16 years of absence.
“I am very happy here to be able to represent my country, which after a long time we achieved a classification… the truth is that there are no words, that’s what we feel,” Gómez expressed before interrupting his words due to emotion.
“You know that I am very emotional and the truth is that I will try to give 100% to give that joy to all the people,” he expressed after recovering when his voice broke.
Gómez continued “we want to give 100% to be able to give that joy to people.” “The teacher wants the best version of us, we will try to do what he asks of us on the court,” he highlighted.
Paraguay’s coach, Argentine Gustavo Alfaro, came up to hug him while the audience responded with applause. “This is what all of Paraguay feels,” said the South American coach.
Gómez is part of the generation that returned Paraguay to a World Cup and is emerging as one of the important pieces of the midfield along with Andrés Cubas.
Alfaro also referred to the situation of Julio Enciso, who continues to recover and remains a doubt for his debut. “La Joya has his heart set on wanting to be part of this because of the enthusiasm that he and all the players have,” he indicated.
The coach pointed out that the attacker is showing a favorable evolution, although he avoided confirming his presence in the starting lineup.
“I already have the team formed, in the absence of a few small adjustments. I will finish defining it when I give the talk to the players,” he explained.
Regarding the match against the United States, Alfaro highlighted the importance of commitment for the Paraguayan team.
“It’s not just another game. It’s a different game, with different characteristics than any other one you can play,” he said.
The coach recalled that the return to the World Cup represents a special moment for Paraguayan soccer.
“It is a moment of great fulfillment, of great joy, because we know the needs that the country had for this, the struggle that the players had had throughout all this time,” he expressed.
Paraguay qualified in sixth place in the South American qualifiers and will face the tournament with players such as Miguel Almirón, Antonio Sanabria, Gustavo Gómez and Julio Enciso.
Alfaro also recognized the quality of the rival and the work done by Mauricio Pochettino at the head of the American team.
“We are clear about the hierarchy that the rival has, how it has prepared, not just now, but rather it has been working for a long time with the premise of this World Cup,” he said.