Paraguay wrapped up their US tour with an 8-1 thrashing of New York Red Bull in a closed-door friendly. The match was played at noon on Saturday at the club's High Performance Center in New Jersey.
Head coach Gustavo Alfaro arranged the fixture to evaluate and give playing time to squad members who had seen limited action in recent official matches. The Albirroja enter the break in positive form, having beaten Colombia 1-0 on October 3rd and Bolivia 2-0 on September 27th.
"He was finally able to see all the called-up players, just as he had admitted in the last press conference," Alfaro said after the game.
New York Red Bull took an early lead, but Paraguay responded emphatically. The goals came from Robert Morales, Gustavo Caballero (two), Enso González, Ramón Sosa, Alexis Cañete, Alex Arce and Alexandro Maidana. The starting lineup featured Santiago Rojas; Alan Benítez, Clever Ferreira, José Canale, Alexandro Maidana; Gustavo Caballero, Mathias Villasanti (captain), Matías Galarza, Ramón Sosa; Mauricio Magalhães and Robert Morales. Substitutes Enso González, Alex Arce, Hugo Quintana and Alexis Cañete also featured.
The match was not official and does not count toward the FIFA world ranking. Players were released to return to their clubs afterwards. The national team's next assignment is in November, with a friendly against Singapore on the 13th. The side will aim to continue its good form on the Asian tour.
Background and full detail: La Nación
