Copa America 2011 Preview: Paraguay Look To Build On World Cup Run

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Going into the 2010 World Cup, almost all of the South American nations were hyped up. Brazil and Argentina were, at worst, the second and third favorites behind eventual winners Spain. Brazil were more practical than usual under Dunga, while Argentina had - and still has - the best player in the world in Lionel Messi. Uruguay had the eventual Golden Ball winner in Diego Forlan, while everyone was intrigued by Marcelo Bielsa's Chile. Paraguay were almost certainly the least discussed South American nation, but apparently that didn't bother them. They advanced past quality sides like Italy and Japan en route to a quarterfinal appearance, where they were defeated by eventual champions Spain.

Paraguay are yet to name a final squad, but their preliminary squad includes almost all of the players who guided them to their impressive finish in South Africa. One notable omission is Oscar Cardozo, who after years of scoring in buckets for club and missing sitters for country, started missing sitters this year as well. Seeing him dropped to the bench in favor of Roque Santa Cruz, Lucas Barrios and Nelson Valdez wouldn't be shocking, but seeing him miss the preliminary squad entirely was a bit stunning.

Still, it's not like Paraguay will miss him. Besides those three players, they also have youngster Federico Santander from Toulouse and Olimpia star Pablo Zeballos to pick from. In goal, defense, and in midfield, Paraguay have great quality in the starting lineup but minimal depth. At striker, they have both.

In South Africa, Paraguay alternated between two and three striker formations, usually going with the latter. Lately, in all of their friendlies this season, they have opted for a 4-4-2 formation. Newell's Old Boys winger Marcelo Estigarribia has been a staple, while the other wing spot has rotated between Osvaldo Martinez, Edgar Barreto, Jonathan Santana and Hernan Perez. Barreto seems to be first choice at the moment, but it's certainly not set in stone.

Up top, it seems as though Valdez may be the odd man out, with Santa Cruz and Barrios occupying the starting spots. Any two of the three would make a great tandem in a 4-4-2, but the experience of Santa Cruz along with the form of Barrios trumps Valdez, who is somewhere in the middle on both accounts.

The center of midfield is another serious strong spot for Paraguay, and their holding players are going to make it very difficult for any of their opponents to play through the middle. Though things haven't worked out at all for Cristian Riveros at Sunderland, he was a staple of the team in the World Cup and he will probably continue to start in the middle. Next to him should be Victor Caceres, who was also ever-present during the World Cup. Caceres is one of the best players in the world who has never played his football professionally in Europe, and he makes up a fantastic midfield pairing with Riveros.

Paraguay's defense lacks the experience and star power that the rest of the team has, but they have proven reliable in the past and while the members of that back line aren't playing for Europe's biggest clubs, they are reasonably accomplished. Dario Veron and Paulo da Silva have both won multiple league titles in Mexico, while Aureliano Torres has an Argentine Primera title under his belt. On pure talent they might be out-matched against South America's elite, but they've shown that they have the ability to get the job done, especially with the two great holding midfielders in front of them and a very good goalkeeper in Justo Villar behind them.

While they have not been handed an easy group, Paraguay should be able to finish in second place and advance to the quarterfinals of the competition. Ecuador and Venezuela both have a couple of fantastic game-changing stars, but nowhere near the depth and complete squad that Paraguay has. Of course, Brazil are the favorites and anything less than nine points for them would be a minor letdown, while anything but first place in the group would be a complete letdown. Paraguay need to avoid a loss to Ecuador, do damage control against Brazil, then defeat Venezuela convincingly.

Projected Starting Lineup (4-4-2)

GK Justo Vilar LB Aureliano Torres CB Dario Veron CB Paulo da Silva RB Marcos Caceres CM Victor Caceres CM Cristian Riveros LM Marcelo Estigarribia RM Edgar Barreto ST Lucas Barrios ST Roque Santa Cruz

Key Player

Lucas Barrios - The Borussia Dortmund man hasn't quite scored at the same rate for his country as he does for his club, but Barrios has a few big goals and has shown that he can be a top player for Paraguay. In the Bundesliga, he's established himself as one of the league's top strikers and his goal scoring rate is impeccable. He's put in big performances against Schalke 04, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, so there's no question that Barrios knows how to get it done and find the net in massive pressure situations.

Prediction

The first game of the tournament against Ecuador will likely determine Paraguay's fate. They should lose to Brazil and defeat Venezuela, so getting points out of the first match and avoiding third place in the group will be big. If Paraguay avoid Argentina or the winner of Group C, they're in a decent position to make the semifinals. Based on the potential teams that they can draw in the knockout stages, Paraguay aren't favorites to get past the round of eight, but a semifinal run isn't too farfetched.