History of Paraguay its capital, and Río de la Plata, with headquarters in Buenos Aires. With this decision, Asunción lost control of the Río de la Plata estuary and became dependent on Buenos Aires for maritime shipping. In 1776, the crown created the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata; Paraguay, which had been subordinate to Lima, now became a provincial outpost of Buenos Aires. Located at the periphery of the empire, Paraguay served as a buffer state. The Portuguese blocked Paraguayan territorial expansion in the north, native tribes blocked it – until their expulsion – in the south, and the Jesuits blocked it
History of the Paraguay national football team of 9 European based players, were expected to advance to at least the round of 16 stage of the competition according to the Paraguayan media, however, defender Antolín Alcaraz believed that Paraguay had what was "required to reach the semi-finals" and Nelson Valdez also believed that the current generation was the one to go further than Paraguay had ever been before. Paraguay were drawn into Group F alongside World Champions Italy, Slovakia and New Zealand. Paraguay would face Italy in their opening group stage match and would take a 1–0 lead in the 39th minute thanks to a header from