The 2018 Copa Paraguay was the first edition of the Copa Paraguay,[1]Paraguay's domestic football cup competition. The competition ended with Guaraní winning their first title after beating Olimpia 5–3 on penalties in the final following a 2–2 draw. Guaraní, as the winners, were awarded a berth into the 2019 Copa Sudamericana.[2]
Preliminary stage
The preliminary stage was played by teams from the Primera B, Primera C, and the UFI. 7 Primera B teams, 6 Primera C teams, and 7 teams from the UFI qualified for the national stage, for a total of 20 teams.
Primera B
The 17 teams were divided into two groups of four teams each and three groups of three teams. The winners of each group, as well as the two best second-placed teams qualified for the national stage.[3]
The two best teams among those ranked second qualified for the national stage. For teams in groups A and B, the matches against the fourth-placed team were not considered in this table.
Source: APF Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Drawing of lots.
Primera C
The 13 teams were divided into three groups of three teams each and one group of four teams. The winners of each group, as well as the two best second-placed teams qualified for the national stage.[3]
Note: The match originally ended with a 2–1 win for 12 de Octubre (SD), but was awarded to Humaitá after a protest from the latter which also derived into the exclusion of the former team. The APF later clarified that the goal scored by Humaitá would still be counted to the effects of goal difference per team, leaving the final score of the match at 0–1.
Source: APF Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Drawing of lots.
UFI
Teams competing in the UFI preliminaries were divided into seven zones grouping the departments of Paraguay, with each department having one participating team (two or three departments per zone).[7] The winners of each zone qualified for the national stage.[8]
Source: FUTPARAGUAY Rules for classification: If two teams are tied: 1) Points, 2) Playoff game. If all teams are tied: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Penalty shootout, 4) Drawing of lots.
Source: FUTPARAGUAY Rules for classification: If two teams are tied: 1) Points, 2) Playoff game. If all teams are tied: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Penalty shootout, 4) Drawing of lots.
Source: FUTPARAGUAY Rules for classification: If two teams are tied: 1) Points, 2) Playoff game. If all teams are tied: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Penalty shootout, 4) Drawing of lots.
The draw for the first round of the national stage involved the 20 teams which qualified from the preliminary stage, as well as the 12 Primera División teams and the 16 División Intermedia teams, which entered the competition at this stage. The 48 teams were drawn into 24 ties to be played as a single game, with a penalty shootout deciding the winner in case of a tie. The 24 winners will advance to the second round. The draw for the first round was held on 29 June 2018 and the matches were played from 24 July to 5 September 2018.[9][10]
The second round was contested by the 24 first round winners. The 12 winners as well as the four losers with the best performance over both rounds qualified for the round of 16. The matches were played from 25 September to 4 October 2018.[11]
Note: The match was originally scheduled on 26 September at 20:10 in Luque but was postponed due to bad weather.[12] It was rescheduled to 2 October at 19:15 in Asunción.
Note: The match was originally scheduled on 26 September at 18:00 in Luque but was postponed due to bad weather.[12] It was rescheduled to 3 October at 18:10 in Luque.
Note: The match was originally scheduled on 23 October at 16:45 in Luque but was postponed due to bad weather.[15] It was rescheduled to 24 October at 16:00 in Asunción.
