Paraguay's national football team has punched well above its weight for a small country. The Albirroja famously reached the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup in 2010, beating Japan in a penalty shootout to get there - one of the most exciting moments in Paraguayan sporting history. Fans filled the streets of Asunción to celebrate, and even people who do not normally follow football joined the party.
The country has produced excellent players who have played for clubs all over Europe and South America. Paraguayan goalkeepers in particular have a legendary reputation - at the 2010 World Cup, goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert was already a national hero from earlier tournaments, famous for his long-range kicks and occasional goals.
At home, the biggest local clubs are Olimpia and Cerro Porteño, who have a fierce and friendly rivalry. Matches between them - called the Clásico - fill the stadium and are talked about for weeks before and after. In neighbourhoods across Paraguay, children play impromptu matches in the street after school using jumpers as goalposts, dreaming of playing for La Albirroja one day.