Paraguay captain Gómez seals redemption with World Cup qualification

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Nosso Palestra

·6 September 2025

Paraguay captain Gómez seals redemption with World Cup qualification

The captain of Palmeiras, defender Gustavo Gómez, also led the Paraguay team in the qualifying campaign that secured the team's qualification for the next World Cup in 2026.

Despite losing his place at times to Fabián Balbuena, ex-Corinthians, Gómez regained his prominence and was the captain in the 0-0 draw with Ecuador on Thursday (5th), which secured the qualification.

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In addition to Gómez, striker Ramón Sosa was also among the starting 11 on the historic night that ended with qualification for the World Cup, a feat that had not been achieved since the 2010 edition, 15 years ago.

Gustavo Gómez could not contain his emotion with the qualification and celebrated.

– With adrenaline still at a thousand, I'm having trouble sleeping after what happened last night. I feel one of the greatest joys of my life, happiness running through my veins, but I can't stop thinking about how we got here. And, above all, those moments when the easiest thing would have been to give up – wrote the player on his social network. – Today I have the honor of being the captain of this group, with teammates of my generation and others younger than me. But if there is one thing we all agree on, even those who no longer wear the Albirroja, it is this: despite adversities, we always persevered. We knew for sure that life would give us another opportunity. A rematch – he added.

Comeback

The leadership and qualification crown Gómez's comeback, who arrived at Verdão in 2018, on loan after passing through Milan, Italy. Paraguayan champion for Libertad, from Paraguay, and Argentine champion for Lanús, from Argentina, he won over the fans and was acquired permanently after the end of the loan.

The athlete with the most trophies in the club's history (12, alongside Weverton, Marcos Rocha, Mayke, Dudu, Ademir da Guia and Junqueira), Gustavo Gómez is the foreigner with the most titles for Palmeiras, the one who played the most for the club (363 games) and the highest scoring defender in Verdão's history, with 41 goals.

The Paraguayan is also the 2nd on the list of foreigners with the most goals for Palmeiras in the points race era of the Brasileirão, with 20 goals, behind Arce (26). In the Libertadores, Gómez is the outfield player with the most wins in the club's history: 51 victories, behind goalkeeper Weverton (54).