The international break didn’t start so well for Miguel Almiron today as he was part of a Paraguay side that lost 2-0 to Japan.
It was a miserable performance from Paraguay who only had three shots the whole game compared to Japan’s 16 [SofaScore].
All three shots were on target but Paraguay couldn’t find a goal and that’s a tale that Newcastle fans will be all too familiar with, as Almiron still waits for his first attacking return since his move from Atlanta in January for a fee close to £22m.
Almiron played in behind striker Antonio Sanabria on Thursday but didn’t get a great response from Paraguay fans to his performance.
Here are the best reactions to Almiron from the Paraguay faithful:
Almiron esta en todas partes pero en ningun lado..
— Julio González C. (@juliogcabello) September 5, 2019
This translates as, “Almiron is everywhere but nowhere…” and it sums up his Newcastle career so far. Almiron has busted a gut at St James’ Park and has shown flashes of genius, but ultimately no end product.
It means that Almiron hasn’t scored for anyone in the last 10 months, with his last goal coming for Atlanta last November. That needs to change soon.
Preocupante, no se les puede reclamar predisposición y voluntad a los jugadores, pero no hay pensantes, Almiron intenta con sus corridas y
Springs pero no alcanza,no hay evolución …algo hicimos y hacemos mal…hay que reflexionar…— Migue Galeano #80932 (@MIGUEGALEANO) September 5, 2019
This fan said that Paraguay have “no thinkers. Almiron tries with his runs but does not reach, there is no evolution.” Again, this could be a Newcastle fan talking about his performances in black & white.
Paraguay más de lo mismo
Corriendo detrás de la pelota
Sin volumen futbolístico
Almirón es veloz pero no distribuye
Gomez de central por izquierda baja “2 cambios”
Con este perfil no podemos jugar solo con 2 volantes internos
Sin laterales
Algo anda mal, Derlis marcó muy bien— Carlos Kiese (@KieseCarlos) September 5, 2019
This fan said that “Almirón is fast” but isn’t getting the distribution he needs, ending with “Something is wrong”.
lamentable hoy almiron ni un centro pudo tirar bien, solo sabe correr le evade a uno y pierde… bueno tambien Derlis, Tony y Gomez otros desastre tambien
— Marshall X (@slimseb) September 5, 2019
It was a familiar refrain from this Paraguay fan who said that Almiron knows how to run but nothing else. He said that the Newcastle player was a disaster today but he wasn’t alone on the Paraguay team, with other players criticised too.
No sé cómo la gente se engaña con la selección, solo Almirón y dos más y nada mas
— zacarias del castillo (@zacariasdelcas1) September 5, 2019
Not everyone was so harsh on Almiron. This fan said Paraguay only have Almiron and two other players who are worthy of playing at the moment.
Cuando entro Blas Riveros algo más de proyección tuvimos, Almiron en modo Newcastle, solo corriendo al pedo. Brian Samudio lo más rescatable. Oscar Romero es el unico que pone la pausa y piensa, tiene que estar. Me hubiese gustado ver a Ivan Franco. #albirroja
— onchi ortiz (@onchiortiz) September 5, 2019
This Paraguay fan actually name-checked Newcastle and seemed to be blaming his club for his loss of international form. He said that the Almiron they saw today was the player in “Newcastle mode”, just running to no effect. That seems harsh as Almiron still hasn’t scored for his country in 20 games. Maybe Newcastle have him in “Paraguay mode”.
A defense that seems to be unable to tighten well in the back, makeshift centre backs playing as fullbacks (Piris & Escobar) & vice versa, a lack of an actual attack to create chances onto goal. Almiron playing way more defensive than he should be & Sanabria yet again a mystery.
— Roberto Rojas (@RobertoRojas97) September 5, 2019
Final word goes to this Paraguay journalist who said “Almiron playing way more defensive than he should be”, which you might put down to his lack of confidence in front of goal at the moment. All in all, it was seemingly not the performance that Newcastle fans would have been hoping for from their attacker.