Argentina fall to Paraguay and take silver at South American Games | OneFootball

Argentina’s U-19 National Team was unable to cap off its South American Games Santa Fe 2026 campaign with the title. The team coached by Diego Placente drew 0-0 with Paraguay in regular time and then lost 5-4 in the penalty shootout, settling for the silver medal.

The match was played this Friday at the Marcelo Bielsa Stadium in Rosario, in front of a large crowd. Argentina had some of the clearest chances, especially in the second half, but could not break the deadlock.

One of the biggest opportunities fell to Ramiro Tulián, whose shot struck the post. La Albiceleste also created other chances, although Paraguay managed to hold on to the draw until the end.

With the 0-0 confirmed, the champion had to be decided from the penalty spot. For Argentina, Felipe Esquivel, Franco Domínguez, Thiago Pérez, and Facundo Jainikoski converted, while Leandro Olima was unable to score his attempt. Paraguay converted all five of its penalties and won 5-4 to claim the gold medal.

In this way, Placente’s side ended the tournament with the silver medal, after advancing from the group stage, beating Peru 1-0 in the semifinals, and reaching the gold-medal match. In the opening stage, Argentina had defeated Uruguay, drawn with Venezuela, and lost to Paraguay itself.

For the U-19 National Team, the final also represented a chance for revenge that ultimately did not materialize, since Paraguay had also won the meeting between the two in the tournament opener, 2-1.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.