
Paraguay may go into the World Cup somewhat underestimated in the World Cup odds despite a good qualifying campaign. They have some very exciting attacking talent in their squad and should score plenty of goals.
Paraguay are still unlikely winners of the World Cup but they are likely to do their fans proud and they look a value price in the World Cup odds if nothing else.
Paraguay may face Italy in their group but they have nothing to fear from the aging Italians, who looked average in qualifying and very poor in the Confederations Cup last year in South Africa. The conditions are likely to suit Paraguay more and they might just get all nine points in the group.
Should Paraguay win their group as expected the most likely Second Round opponents would be Cameroon or Denmark, who are not bad teams but if Paraguay can beat Italy they can beat those two teams. Once Paraguay reach the Quarter Final opponents they will play one of the World Cup favourites and are likely to lose out.
Roque Santa Cruz may have only scored three goals in qualifying but he only managed five games due to injury and that works out at a very good scoring ratio, he still only got outscored by two of his teammates and one of those doesn't go to the World Cup, the other played 17 games!
A fairly short priced bet but Paraguay should be looking to score four of five goals agaisnt the Kiwis and it is almost impossible to see their best striker not getting amongst the goals, this bet should be a winner early on in the game.
Roque Santa Cruz is a huge price in the Golden Boot betting yet he could easily get a hat trick agaisnt New Zealand and one a piece against Italy and Slovakia. That would give him five goals and he'd probably only need one more to guarantee a place in the Golden Boot market.
| Date | Team | Scores | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peru | 0 - 0 | Paraguay | |
| Paraguay | 1 - 0 | Uruguay | |
| Paraguay | 5 - 1 | Ecuador | |
| Chile | 0 - 3 | Paraguay | |
| Paraguay | 2 - 0 | Brazil | |
| Bolivia | 4 - 2 | Paraguay | |
| Argentina | 1 - 1 | Paraguay | |
| Paraguay | 2 - 0 | Venezuela | |
| Columbia | 0 - 1 | Paraguay | |
| Paraguay | 1 - 0 | Peru | |
| Uruguay | 2 - 0 | Paraguay | |
| Ecuador | 1 - 1 | Paraguay | |
| Paraguay | 0 - 2 | Chile | |
| Brazil | 2 - 1 | Paraguay |
Paraguay have surprised many with their solid qualifying campaign and there could be a few more surprises yet from the South American side. The Paraguay World Cup odds look more than fair.
| Goalkeepers | Justo Villar (Real Valladolid, Spain), Aldo Bobadilla (Independiente Medellin, Colombia), Diego Barreto (Cerro Porteno) |
| Defenders | Denis Caniza (Leon, Mexico), Dario Veron (Pumas, Mexico), Julio Caceres (Atletico Mineiro, Brazil), Paulo Da Silva (Sunderland, England), Claudio Morel Rodriguez (Boca Juniors, Argentina), Antolin Alcaraz (Wigan, Eng), Carlos Bonet (Olimpia), Aureliano Torres (San Lorenzo, Argentina) |
| Midfielders | Cristian Riveros (Sunderland, England), Enrique Vera (LDU Quito, Ecuador), Edgar Barreto (Atalanta, Italy), Jonathan Santana (Wolfsburg, Germany), Victor Caceres (Libertad), Nestor Ortigoza (Argentinos Juniors, Argentina) |
| Attackers | Roque Santa Cruz (Manchester City, England), Nelson Haedo Valdez (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Oscar Cardozo (Benfica, Portugal), Edgar Benitez (Pachuca, Mexico), Lucas Barrios (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Rodolfo Gamarra (Libertad) |
| Year | Stage of Exit |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Eliminated at Group Stage |
| 2002 | Eliminated by Germany in Second Round |
| 1998 | Eliminated by France in Extra Time in Second Round |
| 1994 | Did not qualify |
| 1990 | Did not qualify |
Back Paraguay to win the World Cup odds and either lay off when the price halves, or when they reach the second phase, whichever happens soonest. Even with a tough draw in the second round there is a chance a couple of the bigger sides will have been eliminated and the Paraguay odds would have fallen as a consequence.
Buy Paraguay in the outright tournament index, you should at least break even unless they really don't turn up for the group stage and they might even reach the quarter final with a bit of luck. Either way the reward should be bigger than the risk.