Paraguay Beat Colombia 1-0 as Debutant Hugo Benitez Scores the Winner
- 🔑 Paraguay beat Colombia 1-0 in an international friendly on Friday, October 2, 2026, at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. Hugo Adrian Benitez, playing his first match for Paraguay, scored the only goal in the 56th minute from a rebound after Colombia’s goalkeeper saved his first effort.
- The goal came after a cross from the right. Aldair Quintana saved the first shot, and Benitez finished the rebound from inside the box. Sources put the goal at the 55th, 56th or 57th minute; this page uses 56, the minute in Paraguay’s official match report and the wire-service account.
- Colombia had most of the possession but created little in the final third, while Paraguay stayed compact and threatened on the counter. Five yellow cards were shown, three to Paraguay and two to Colombia, with no red cards, according to the official match report from Paraguay’s football association.
- Both coaches treated the friendly as a testing ground. Gustavo Alfaro said this was a moment to test and experiment rather than chase results, while Nestor Lorenzo said Colombia wanted to try a different system but struggled to build play cleanly and made too many errors under Paraguay’s pressure.
- Paraguay finished its window with two wins and two clean sheets after a 2-0 win over Bolivia on September 27. Colombia, which drew 1-1 with Mexico on September 26, is scheduled to play Peru in Miami on Tuesday, October 6, 2026. No betting odds, spreads, or win probabilities are used anywhere on this page.
Paraguay beat Colombia 1-0 in an international friendly on Friday, October 2, 2026, thanks to a 56th-minute goal from debutant Hugo Adrian Benitez. The match was played at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, and was Colombia’s second game of its September-October window. It is a different fixture from the two sides’ 2024 Copa America meeting.
What was the final score of Colombia vs Paraguay?
Paraguay won 1-0, with the only goal scored by Hugo Adrian Benitez in the 56th minute. The friendly was played on Friday, October 2, 2026, with a scheduled 8 p.m. ET kickoff (7 p.m. in Colombia), at Sports Illustrated Stadium, the Harrison, New Jersey, venue formerly known as Red Bull Arena. Pierre-Luc Lauziere of Canada refereed, according to Paraguay’s football association.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Score | Paraguay 1-0 Colombia |
| Goal | Benitez, 56' |
| Cards | 3 Paraguay, 2 Colombia |
Colombia held most of the possession and pushed late, but match reports describe a side that struggled to turn it into clear chances. Paraguay stayed compact and looked for counterattacks down the wings. Late in the game, substitute Daniel Munoz had a chance to level that went wide, according to the wire-service report.
How did Hugo Adrian Benitez score the winner?
Benitez scored from the rebound after Aldair Quintana saved his first effort from a cross delivered from Paraguay’s right. According to the wire-service match report, he shot twice from inside the box, and the second attempt went in. Other match reports point to a lapse in Colombia’s defense in the build-up. Some outlets log the goal at the 55th minute and one at the 57th, but Paraguay’s official report and the wire-service account both say the 56th, which this page uses.
Who is Hugo Adrian Benitez?
Hugo Adrian Benitez is a forward for Nacional in Paraguay’s domestic league who was called up by coach Gustavo Alfaro for these friendlies. Alfaro named a 28-player squad on September 20 for the matches against Bolivia and Colombia, and Benitez started up front against Colombia alongside Julio Enciso. The goal was his debut and his first for the senior national team, according to Paraguay’s football association. Many English-language outlets shorten his name to Hugo Benitez, while Paraguay’s federation and several Spanish-language outlets use the full name.
What did Gustavo Alfaro and Nestor Lorenzo say after the match?
Both coaches framed the game as an experiment rather than a result that carried weight. Alfaro said a friendly like this was a moment to “test and experiment,” and that there was no pressing need to dwell on the result. Lorenzo said Colombia had wanted to try a different system for some time, but the team struggled to build play out cleanly, let Paraguay press it and made a number of errors. We have translated or paraphrased both coaches’ remarks from Spanish-language reports.
What were the starting lineups?
Paraguay started Orlando Gill in goal with Benitez and Julio Enciso leading the attack, while Colombia started Aldair Quintana in goal with Luis Javier Suarez up front. Paraguay’s starters, per the federation’s report, were Orlando Gill; Juan Caceres, Omar Alderete, Gustavo Gomez and Junior Alonso; Andres Cubas, Diego Gomez, Hugo Cuenca and Miguel Almiron; and Enciso and Benitez.
Colombia’s starters were Quintana, Edier Ocampo, Kevin Andrade, Davinson Sanchez (captain), Jhon Lucumi, Alvaro Angulo, Richard Rios, Gustavo Puerta, Yaser Asprilla, Jhon Arias and Suarez. Reports describe Colombia’s shape differently, so we list the names without a formation.
Quintana took a heavy knock to the head early on and played on with a bandage. Five yellow cards were shown in all, three to Paraguay and two to Colombia, and there were no red cards.
What does the result mean for Paraguay and Colombia?
The win gave Paraguay two victories and two clean sheets from its window, while Colombia has no win from its first two games. Paraguay opened with a 2-0 win over Bolivia in Washington on September 27, with Miguel Almiron scoring both goals, and then held Colombia scoreless for 180 minutes without conceding across the two matches. Colombia opened with a 1-1 draw against Mexico on September 26.
Both teams are three months removed from World Cup exits. Paraguay beat Germany on penalties in the Round of 32 and lost 1-0 to France in the Round of 16, while Colombia lost a Round of 16 penalty shootout to Switzerland. Our World Cup 2026 bracket page has the full knockout path.
When does Colombia play next?
Colombia is scheduled to play Peru in a friendly in Miami on Tuesday, October 6, 2026. Colombian outlets and the wire service reported that date after the Paraguay match. The kickoff time is not confirmed here, and we give no forecast for the game. Paraguay’s September-October window is over.
What else has Colombia played in this window?
Colombia’s first game of the window was a 1-1 draw with Mexico on September 26, in Rafa Marquez’s debut as Mexico’s coach. Our report on Colombia’s 1-1 draw with Mexico covers that match, including both goals. Put together with this result, Colombia has gone two games without a win going into the Peru fixture, while Paraguay’s debutant striker has a goal he will not forget.
How we verified this
The final score, scorer, venue and date were checked against at least five independent source types. These were Paraguay’s football association’s official match report, a wire-service match report carried by several outlets, live coverage from two Colombian news organizations, and two English-language live reports. All agree on Paraguay 1-0 Colombia, a Hugo Adrian Benitez goal, Friday, October 2, 2026, at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. The match was over at the time of writing (the morning of October 3, 2026, Eastern time), so the result is final.
The goal minute differs by source, and we followed the official report. Paraguay’s football association and the wire-service report both give the 56th minute. Two Colombian outlets log it at the 55th and one English-language live report at the 57th. This page uses the 56th.
The scorer’s name is given in full on first mention. Paraguay’s football association and Colombian television coverage use Hugo Adrian Benitez, while most English-language outlets write Hugo Benitez. One report lists a different forename, and a separate Paraguay substitute shares the surname, so this page uses the full name. His club (Nacional) was confirmed in squad call-up coverage and a match report. His age was not confirmed, so it is not stated.
How the goal happened is described consistently in outline but not in every detail. The wire-service report has a cross from the right, a first save by Aldair Quintana and a finish from the rebound. Other live reports add a lapse in Colombia’s defense in the build-up. This page uses only the shared outline.
Colombia’s formation is deliberately not stated. Reports describe it differently (a back three in some coverage, a back four in another), so the lineup is listed by names only. Goalkeeper Quintana’s head knock is described only as an early knock that he played through with a bandage.
Coach remarks were each found in two places. Gustavo Alfaro’s comment about testing and experimenting appears in the wire-service report and in a second Colombian outlet’s coverage. Nestor Lorenzo’s remarks about trying a different system and struggling to build play appear in the wire-service report and in a Colombian television network’s post-match piece. Both are translated or paraphrased from Spanish.
Cards and substitutions use only the official report’s counts. Five yellow cards (three Paraguay, two Colombia) and no red cards come from Paraguay’s football association, and card and substitution minutes are left out because outlets differ by one to three minutes. Kickoff is given only as the scheduled 8 p.m. ET start; some live reports log it a few minutes later. Attendance and any VAR or injury notes were not found in the sources, so none are stated.
Context figures were checked separately. Paraguay’s 2-0 win over Bolivia in Washington on September 27 (two goals from Miguel Almiron) was confirmed across several match reports. The World Cup knockout results come from our own bracket page rather than from a syndicated summary that described the rounds incorrectly. Colombia’s 1-1 draw with Mexico on September 26 matches our existing report.
One item is still ahead as of writing. Colombia’s friendly against Peru in Miami on Tuesday, October 6, 2026 had not been played. The date was consistent across Colombian outlets and the wire service, while the kickoff time was not confirmed, so none is given. No result or forecast for it appears here.
No betting odds, spreads, or win-probability models appear anywhere on this page.