Paraguay's national team achieved a crucial victory in the South American U-20 tournament "Venezuela 2025" by defeating the host team 1-0. The match took place at the Metropolitano Stadium in Lara, during the fourth round of Zone A. Thanks to a goal by Octavio Alfonso Duré in the 42nd minute of the first half, Paraguay is now in third place with good chances of advancing to the next round.
Uruguay leads the table with 9 points, followed by Chile with 6 points and a better goal difference than Paraguay (+1 against -4), which has the same number of units. In contrast, Venezuela has 3 points, and Peru stands in last place with no points. In the last match of Group A, taking place on Friday, Chile will face Paraguay in a crucial game to determine the second place and qualification for the final hexagonal. On the other hand, Venezuela will play against Uruguay, needing to win and hoping for a winner in the other match to advance. Peru, for its part, has completed its participation in the tournament and will have a free match.
During the match, Octavio Alfonso Duré scored the decisive goal following a short clearance outside the area in the 30th minute of the first half. Despite Venezuela's dominance in the second half, their lack of depth in play prevented them from troubling the Paraguayan goalkeeper. A controversial play occurred in the 30th minute when a Paraguayan defender cleared a cross with his head, and the ball struck his arm, but the referee determined that it was not a penalty since the tournament does not have the VAR system.
Despite Venezuela's attempts, Paraguay maintained a solid defense and secured the three points at stake.
