Today, October 3rd, Ukraine's U-20 national team will play their third group stage match at the World Cup in Chile against Paraguay. The game starts at 11 PM Kyiv time and will be broadcast live by "Suspilne Sport."

After the second round of Group B, both Ukraine and Paraguay lead with four points each, but our national team is in first place due to better disciplinary records (five yellow cards compared to nine for Paraguay plus one red card). To advance to the knockout stage, two teams from each group will qualify along with the top four third-place finishers. For the Blue-Yellow team to maintain their lead, they must secure a draw today.

This is Paraguay's first World Cup U-20 appearance in ten years and their tenth overall. Their best result was reaching the quarter-finals back in 2001. Interestingly, that year, Paraguay eliminated Ukraine from the round of 16 under Anatoliy Kroschenko's leadership.

On a regional level, Paraguay has only won the title once, way back in 1971. They have also finished in the top four fifteen times in South America (five times as runners-up and six times third). In 2025, they managed to secure one of the top-four spots (behind Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia), with their last similar success dating back to 2013.

The team is coached by 42-year-old Antonio Alcaraz, who played in Europe for "Beira-Mar," "Gent," "Wigan," "Everton," and "Las Palmas." The squad consists of players from Paraguayan league clubs along with four foreign-based players from England and Argentina. Forward Enzo González plays for English club Wolverhampton Wanderers, defender Axel Bergoño is with Argentine team Lanús, defender Maximiliano Díaz represents Independiente in Argentina, while midfielder Gabriel Paolitti plays for Boca Juniors in Argentina.

Ukraine's U-20 National Team Roster

Goalkeepers: 1. Stanislav Vaniyvskyi ("Stal" Zhydachiv, Poland), 12. Vladyslav Krapivcov ("Girona," Spain), 16. Markian Bakus (Cherkasy LNZ).

Defenders: 3. Kyrylo Dytchtyar, 13. Daniel Vernattus (both "Metalist" Kharkiv), 4. Mykola Kyrichok ("Karpaty" Lviv), 5. Vladyslav Kisil ("Ponferradina," Spain), 6. Maxim Melnychenko ("Polissya" Zhytomyr), 17. Maxim Derkach ("Tukums 2000," Latvia), 20. Oleksii Gusiev ("Kudryvka").

Midfielders: 10. Hennadiy Synchuk ("Montreal," Canada), 11. Danylo Krevsun ("Borussia" Dortmund, Germany), 7. Artur Shakh ("Karpaty" Lviv),  18. Bohdan Budko (AZ, Netherlands), 8. Daniil Vashchenko ("Oleksandria"), 21. Matviy Panchenko ("Metalist 1925" Kharkiv), 14. Kristian Shevchenko ("Watford," England), 2. Vitaliy Katrych ("Inhulets" Petrove), 15. Yaroslav Karaman ("Polissya" Zhytomyr).

Forwards: 9. Matviy Ponomarenko ("Dynamo" Kyiv), 19. Oleksandr Pyshchur (ETO, Hungary).

Group B

27.09.2025. South Korea — Ukraine — 1:2

28.09.2025. Paraguay — Panama — 3:2

30.09.2025. Panama — Ukraine — 1:1

01.10.2025. South Korea — Paraguay — 0:0

Tournament Table

03.10.2025. Panama — South Korea. 23:00 (Valparaiso).

03.10.2025. Ukraine — Paraguay. 23:00 (Santiago).

Time — Kyiv time (local — -6 hours).