If Paraguay wants to claim a spot in the World Cup’s knockout stage, it will have to do so without Miguel Almirón.
The Atlanta United man was sent off in first-half stoppage time for covering his mouth while speaking to Türkiye defender Mert Müldür during Friday night’s Group D match in Santa Clara. It’s the latest turn in what’s been a rather eventful World Cup for Almirón, who was shown a yellow card against the United States last Friday after VAR ruled he had committed a dive in an attempt to draw a foul.
Here’s video of the red-card offense:
This is a new rule introduced by FIFA in April, following Vinicius Jr. facing racial abuse from Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni during a Champions League match. Prestianni, who covered his mouth while addressing the Real Madrid star, was handed a six-match ban.
Almirón will now miss Paraguay’s final group stage match against Australia in Santa Clara on Thursday. And it comes at a bad time for La Albirroja, who led Türkiye 1-0 through Matías Galarza’s opener in the second minute. If Paraguay end up dropping points, it isn’t eliminated from knockout stage contention, but it will need a win over Australia and some help.
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