Mauricio explains Paraguayan citizenship, credits Gómez and eyes national-team chance | OneFootball

Mauricio has obtained Paraguayan citizenship after appearing on FIFA's list of players who changed confederation last week, giving him another route to the national team.

"I was talking to Gustavo Alfaro about this and he told me, 'I do not speak to anyone until he is eligible. As soon as he is eligible, I will obviously consider him like any other Paraguayan player'." He said this in an interview with Cardinal Deportivo.

He said he began the paperwork last year and that Gustavo Gómez, captain of Palmeiras and Paraguay, helped show him the way. Mauricio is pleased it worked out and views it as another option, though he accepts he must perform for Palmeiras to earn any Paraguay chance.

He added that part of his father's family is Paraguayan. His late grandmother was Paraguayan, and his father, born in Brazil, moved there as a baby, spent his childhood and teenage years in Paraguay, then returned to Brazil for work.

Born in Brazil, Mauricio played for Brazil's youth sides and had considered naturalisation since 2022 while at Internacional. He was monitored then by Guillermo Barros Schelotto, and with the process now complete under Gustavo Alfaro he could be called up for a 2026 World Cup push.

He now awaits a possible call-up in the March international window, the final one before the World Cup squad is named.

Source: Globo.com