Paraguay fans are eager for their long-awaited World Cup return, in the country they now call home

When the first World Cup match in the U.S. kicks off, most eyes will be on the host country’s home team. But for the small community of Paraguayans living in the U.S., it’s a moment in the spotlight for their own treasured team, returning to the tournament after a 16-year absence.

Paraguayan fans across the United States have been planning barbecues and get-togethers to watch the team’s group stage matches. While many balked at the prices for Friday’s match against the U.S., with seats selling for more than $1,000 each, some have already bought tickets to later matches.

Santiago Araujo, 32, is among them. His family owns one of the few Paraguayan restaurants in the U.S., in the seaside town of Pacific Grove, California. He and his brother scored tickets to see the team take on Australia in Santa Clara, California, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) away.

“Every Paraguayan I know wants to go,” said Araujo, who moved to California with his family when he was 11. “It’s not like there’s seasons of any other sports in Paraguay. I used to sleep with a soccer ball as my toy.”

A long wait for the small, but dedicated, Paraguayan community

There are some 37,000 Paraguayans living in the U.S., according to Census estimates, and they’re eager for the team’s long-awaited return to FIFA’s prized tournament. It’s the first time Paraguay has clinched a World Cup spot since 2010, when it had its best performance, reaching the quarterfinals. The team, which FIFA currently ranks 40th in the world, is making its ninth World Cup appearance.

The U.S. and Paraguay are joined in Group D by Turkey and Australia, which Paraguay will respectively face on June 19 and June 25 in Santa Clara.

One of Paraguay’s veteran players, midfielder Miguel Almirón, plays for the MLS’ Atlanta United. At 32, he remembers watching that 2010 World Cup as a kid with hopes that someday he, too, would have the opportunity to play on soccer’s biggest stage.

It’s been a long wait.

“It’s going to be something beautiful in that moment, not just for me, but also for my family and for all the Paraguayan fans, and for anyone who’s been with us through all the tough moments,” Almirón said recently, thinking ahead to the first match. “There are going to be a lot of emotions at that moment. We take it on with responsibility, because we know so many people are depending on us.”

How fans are celebrating in the US and Paraguay

Paraguay is among South America’s less populous countries, with about 7 million people. Landlocked, it’s surrounded by Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil and known for vast savannas, lush landscapes and the indigenous Guarani culture. In the U.S., more concentrated Paraguayan communities can be found in New York and the affluent town of Bernardsville, New Jersey, which Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña visited in 2024.

To cheer on the team, Paraguay fans will don its red-and-white jerseys and tubular top hats. In Northern California, Cafe Guarani, which Araujo’s family owns, is hosting a celebration to bring together Paraguayan fans between the games with traditional dishes that include manioc empanadas and iced yerba mate. In the Queens borough of New York, they’ll gather at the I Love Paraguay Restaurant to watch the games.

Ana Di Sessa, of New Jersey, said she’d love to attend the matches in California but it’s too much of a trip.

“It is not only the tickets — you have to pay your hotel, the flights,” she said. “A lot of people are not going to be able to go there.”

Zoraida Pereira, a travel agent in Bernardsville, said she has sold packages to fans heading to Santa Clara, but not the opening game because of ticket prices. The 43-year-old, who was born in Paraguay but has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, said it’s tough to choose between the two countries on the pitch.

“I am rooting for Paraguay this time around,” she said. “They’ve been out for so long.”

The frenzy is also underway more than 5,000 miles (8,046 kilometers) away in Paraguay, where the documentary film “El Renacer Albirrojo” was released about La Albirroja’s yearslong journey to return to the World Cup. The team was sent off to the United States with a fanfare of fireworks, and some community members in the U.S. said they have friends and family flying in from Paraguay to attend the matches.

Rodrigo Valdez, a computer engineer in San Diego, is planning to travel more than 450 miles (724 kilometers) to Santa Clara to see the team play. Born in the U.S., the 34-year-old spent his childhood in Paraguay and relishes the attention the team is getting.

He said he’ll watch Friday’s game with family and friends in San Diego. Despite having a 4-month-old baby, his wife encouraged him to buy himself a ticket to the match with Australia as a gift for his first Father’s Day.

“It was a unique opportunity for us that we are living in California,” Valdez said. “It will be very meaningful.”

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Associated Press Sports Writer Maura Carey in Atlanta contributed reporting.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup