Bareiro is staking his Paraguay World Cup place at Boca | OneFootball

His arrival at Boca, hand in hand with the emergence of Tomás Aranda, seemed to settle the attacking side of things. Adam Bareiro became the focal point in the box for Claudio Úbeda’s team and, although he still owes goals (he scored one in five matches in the Apertura), he has earned, for now, an undisputed place. Gustavo Alfaro has him on his radar, and if he continues to look good over the coming months, he could call him up for the World Cup.

That debut brace against Gimnasia de Chivilcoy was followed by strong performances, always as a starter, and it was only in last Sunday’s match against Instituto that he scored again after a month. The former River striker is currently Boca’s No. 9, and Paraguay’s national team coaching staff have already let it be known that if his level keeps rising, he will be at the tournament to be played in the United States, Mexico, and Canada starting on June 11.

Bareiro was not part of the current call-up, which does include Álex Arce, Antonio Sanabria, and Independiente’s Gabriel Ávalos. Along with those three and Ronaldo Martínez, now at Talleres, he is competing for a place on Paraguay’s final squad list. It will be key to see how the three center-forwards perform in these two international friendlies: this Friday against Greece and next Tuesday against Morocco.

It is worth remembering that, at 29 years old, the Boca player has made only nine appearances for his national team, six of them as a starter. In a total of 444 minutes (an average of 49 per match), he has yet to score a single goal. His last call-up was for the double round of World Cup qualifiers at the end of 2024, although he was not on the bench against Uruguay and remained unused against Brazil.

At Boca, he currently complements Miguel Merentiel very well in a strike partnership. Bareiro plays much closer to the box and pins down opposing center-backs, while the Uruguayan moves in and out to drag markers away and arrive more freely in finishing areas. In his six matches wearing the blue and yellow shirt, he has scored three goals, although two of them came in his debut against a Torneo Federal A opponent. If he becomes more clinical and Úbeda keeps him in the starting XI, his World Cup dream will be closer than ever.

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