Paraguay injury heartbreak after Julio Enciso news raises question of why playing friendlies at all

Paraguay injury heartbreak after Julio Enciso news raises question of why playing friendlies at all originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Not now. Anytime but now.

That had to have been the kind of thought running through the head of Paraguay star Julio Enciso on Friday night.

Playing in a friendly exactly one week before opening against the United States, Paraguay’s attacker went down in a heap.

He was in tears. Clearly, this wasn’t good.

Enciso seemed to know that his World Cup may have just ended before it started:

Paraguay’s best attacker, Julio Enciso, in tears after being carried off vs Nicaragua in their final tune up before the World Cup.

You hate to see that. pic.twitter.com/8kEGqq3m3x

— herculez gomez (@herculezg) June 6, 2026

It’s the kind of moment that an on-the-rise team like Paraguay can’t really afford.

They don’t just have a bunch of players like Enciso waiting in the wings to step in.

Yes, Paraguay has to embrace a next-man up mentality, but that’s easier said than done.

They surprised some with a solid run through CONMEBOL qualifying in South America.

Next up, they’ll be trying to surprise the U.S. in a World Cup opener.

Upset watch is a lot harder to figure out if Enciso can’t play.

In the end, it’s every footballer’s nightmare, and Enciso seems to have entered into that bad dream that he can’t get out of.