Paraguay coach says after beating Brazil and Argentina, why not Germany?

Paraguay's coach Gustavo Alfaro believes his team can draw inspiration from their World Cup qualifying wins over Argentina and Brazil as they prepare to face four-time champions Germany.

"We have been up against Argentina, we have been up against Brazil, teams with the same stature or perhaps even more stature than Germany," Alfaro told reporters. "They're all candidates for world champions. We faced them and it was tough for us but we pulled it off."

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We have been up against Argentina, we have been up against Brazil, teams with the same stature or perhaps even more stature than Germany. They're all candidates for world champions. We faced them and it was tough for us but we pulled it off.

Paraguay, returning to the World Cup for the first time since 2010, secured their place in the knockout round after a challenging group stage. They began with a heavy loss to co-hosts the United States but followed up with a narrow win against Turkey and a goalless draw with Australia. Midfielder Diego Gomez is suspended for the Germany match, and centre half Omar Alderete is an injury concern. However, Miguel Almiron will return after serving a one-game ban.

Captain Gustavo Gomez echoed the coach's sentiment, emphasizing the team's experience in high-pressure qualifying matches against strong South American opponents as crucial preparation for facing top global teams. "Everything we went through and achieved in qualifying - coming up against super-strong opponents like Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia - we've been through a lot of pressure situations and we have overcome it," Gomez said.

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Everything we went through and achieved in qualifying - coming up against super-strong opponents like Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia - we've been through a lot of pressure situations and we have overcome it.