‘Absolute disgrace’: Former Portsmouth loanee slammed amid World Cup exit as attention now turns to future
Gustavo Caballero’s World Cup is over and all eyes are now on the former Pompey loanee’s future.
Gustavo Caballero’s World Cup dream with Paraguay is over.
And the former Pompey loanee and his international team-mates have been branded as a ‘disgrace’ after their performance against France.
La Albirroja suffered a 1-0 defeat in the Round of 16 on Saturday night, with Kylian Mbappe scoring his seventh goal of the tournament as Didier Deschamps’ side booked their spot in the quarter finals.
But it was a highly-tempered last-16 showdown in Philadelphia, with Paraguay conceding more than 13 fouls without a booking, while France committed 11 fouls - of which three warranted yellow cards.
And ahead of Mbappe’s strike from the spot, Gustavo Velazquez was captured scuffing the penalty spot before Gabriel Avalos escaped a yellow despite dropping an elbow on Dayot Upamecano.
It was a quiet evening for Caballero, though, who made his second appearance for the tournament when he came off the bench on the hour-mark.
The 24-year-old, who shone against Germany in the Round of 32, was kept quiet by the two-time world champions and was restricted to very little in front of goal as Gustavo Alfaro’s men attempt to keep the current favourites at bay.
Paraguay branded ‘disgrace’ after World Cup display
But Caballero and his team-mates’ actions were slammed after the match by former England international Joe Hart, who branded the Paraguay display as an absolute disgrace.
Analysing the game on BBC Sport, he said: ‘The Paraguayan players were an absolute disgrace tonight.
‘I felt if they were on my team, I’d be dragging half of them off the pitch.
‘I would never want to win that way, I would never want to play football that way and the referee didn’t help in any of the circumstances.
‘The fact that not one Paraguayan player was booked inside the 90 minutes today is absolutely astonishing.’
Gustavo Caballero’s future after World Cup
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It brings an end to Caballero’s World Cup, which has no doubt boosted his stock ahead of a busy summer.
The winger featured twice in the knockouts, having been sidelined with an ankle issue during the group stage as Paraguay finished third in Group D.
But the exciting talent will now return to Santos, who currently hold the cards over his future, which remains up in the air.
Pompey have been keen on reuniting with the 24-year-old, who made a valuable contribution to the Blues’ Championship survival.
The forward netted one goal in 14 appearances during his loan stint at Fratton Park after making the temporary switch on deadline day of the January transfer window.
John Mousinho has spoken publicly over the possibility of resigning the Paraguay international, making it clear they want to pursue a deal at the right price - with their exclusive option to sign him now expired.
Pompey are in the market for a new right winger this summer, with Abu Kamara also reportedly on the radar of the football operations at Fratton Park this summer.