Paraguay coach urges Fifa to move pitchside boards after Enciso crashes into hoarding at World Cup

Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro has called on Fifa to reconsider the positioning of pitchside advertising boards at the World Cup after attacker Julio Enciso crashed into a hoarding during the Group D goalless draw with Australia at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on Thursday.

Enciso came off worse in a second-half challenge with Australia defender Alessandro Circati behind the goal, colliding with the advertising board before rising gingerly and continuing to play out the match.

Speaking after the final whistle, Alfaro made clear he felt the current setup posed an unnecessary risk. “I think that maybe if there was more space that will be good because of course there’s a lot of intensity when we are playing, and sometimes if a player gets destabilised, he could fall and get injured and these things can happen,” he said. “So, maybe we have to think about that and reassess.”

The 0-0 result leaves Paraguay third in Group D, behind group winners the United States and second-placed Australia, both of whom have already secured their places in the last 32. Paraguay must now wait to see whether they advance as one of the eight best third-placed teams across the tournament.

Alfaro was nonetheless upbeat about his side’s response following their heavy 4-1 opening defeat to the United States. “Recovering from such a hard result was really hard for us, and in spite of that, our team has been very solid in the past two games,” he said.