The national team's most successful period was under the coaching of Argentine Gerardo Martino, who was awarded with the South American Coach of the Year in 2007 and took Paraguay to the quarter-finals stage of the FIFA World Cup competition for the first time in history (in 2010) and also to the final of the 2011 Copa América, where Paraguay finished as runners-up.

In Paraguay's entire history at the FIFA World Cup, only Carlos Gamarra and José Luis Chilavert hold the distinction of being selected as part of the All-Star Team, being for the 1998 edition.

Denis Caniza, who was present with the national team from 1996 to 2010, is the only player to have represented Paraguay in four consecutive FIFA World Cup competitions (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010).

The first national football team was organized in 1910 when an invitation by the Argentine club Hércules of Corrientes was received to play a friendly match.

Members of that first national team where F. Melián, G. Almeida, A. Rodríguez, M. Barrios, P. Samaniego, J. Morín, Z. Gadea, D. Andreani, C. Mena Porta, B. Villamayor, M. Rojas and E. Erico.

When the 1921 Copa América finally arrived, Paraguay surprised everybody by beating then three-time South American champions Uruguay by 2–1, being this the first match in an official competition for the Paraguayan football team.

In the first round, Paraguay debuted and lost to the United States (0–3), to then defeat Belgium (1–0) with a goal by Luis Vargas Peña.

[5] For the 1958 World Cup, Paraguay surprisingly qualified ahead of Uruguay (beating them 5–0 in the decisive game) with a team that contained a formidable attacking lineup with stars such as Juan Bautista Agüero, José Parodi, Jorge Lino Romero, Cayetano Ré and Florencio Amarilla.

Players such as Romerito, Carlos Alberto Kiese, Alicio Solalinde, Roberto Paredes, Hugo Ricardo Talavera and Eugenio Morel where an important part of the team, coached by Ranulfo Miranda.

[6] Paraguay ended a 28-year absence from the World Cup in 1986 with a team starring Roberto Fernández in goal; Cesar Zabala, Rogelio Delgado and Juan Bautista Torales in defence; Jorge Amado Nunes and Vladimiro Schettina in midfield; midfield playmaker Romerito and strikers Roberto Cabañas, Ramón Ángel María Hicks and Rolando Chilavert (the older brother of José Luis Chilavert).

In 1992, Paraguay won the South American Pre-Olympic tournament, which guaranteed a spot in the 1992 Summer Olympics football competition.

[10] Defender Carlos Gamarra and goalkeeper and captain José Luís Chilavert were selected as part of the 1998 All-Star Team.

Head coach Ever Hugo Almeida selected an experienced squad, with the majority of the players having been present at the 1998 World Cup.

Paraguay then earned four consecutive wins — against Venezuela, Colombia (2–0), Peru (5–1), and Uruguay (1–0) — to move into second position in qualifying.

[15] Coach Carlos Jara Saguier took a relatively young squad to the 2004 Copa América, with the majority of players tied to clubs of the Primera División Paraguaya.

After losing 4–1 to Peru, Paraguay notched consecutive wins against Uruguay (4–1), Chile (1–0) to reach first position of the table.

Paraguay's group stage elimination made them the only South American national team which did not advance beyond the first round.

Paraguay's national squad underwent a major transition after Germany 2006 because of the retirement of key players including José Luis Chilavert.

Gerardo Martino took with him a relatively experienced squad to Venezuela, with Darío Verón, Claudio Morel Rodríguez, Carlos Bonet, Julio Manzur, Paulo da Silva, Aureliano Torres, Roque Santa Cruz and captain Julio César Cáceres all re-appearing for the national team, and newcomers Enrique Vera, Óscar Cardozo and the Argentine-born Jonathan Santana were appearing for Paraguay in their first major tournaments.

In Paraguay's first fixture, they would defeat Colombia 5–0 after a hat-trick from Roque Santa Cruz and a double from Salvador Cabañas.

Paraguay would win the match 3–1 after a goal from Óscar Cardozo and a 92nd minute free kick from Salvador Cabañas would seal the game for the Albirroja.

[18] With both Paraguay and Argentina having obtained six points and qualifying from beyond their Group C, the two teams faced in their last group stage fixture with a less strengthened side, Roque Santa Cruz, Édgar Barreto, Cristian Riveros and Paolo da Silva all commencing on the bench as Nelson Cuevas would gain his first appearance of the competition and Aldo Bobadilla would play a full 90-minutes of the fixture, replacing Justo Villar for the second time in the tournament.

A 79th minute Javier Mascherano goal was enough to seal a 1–0 victory for Argentina,[19] as Paraguay advanced to the knock-out stages to face Mexico.

Paraguay had an experienced side with Roque Santa Cruz, Édgar Barreto, Carlos Bonet, Enrique Vera, Cristian Riveros, Nelson Valdez and Paulo da Silva.

[49] Fourth position was the highest ranking that Paraguay achieved throughout the qualifiers, as the national team faced a series of losses.

Paraguay finished in ninth (i.e. last) position of the table, having gained just 12 points from three wins and having been defeated ten times.

[61] Following an unsuccessful campaign, Ramón Díaz announced his resignation as coach of the Albirroja in a press conference at the Estadio Defensores del Chaco after returning to the country.

[62][63] He had already received criticism from former Albirroja great José Luís Chilavert, who stated that the team was managed based on "friendship" in the federation due to corruption and opined that Díaz is more of an office person.

He stated that: "There are players that do not even know our national anthem" and "We used to play until we would suffer severe injuries, and we performed because we loved the Albirroja.

Win Draw Loss Fixture The following players were called up to the squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Argentina and Bolivia on 14 and 19 November 2024, respectively.