I stopped by the San Jose Museum of Art yesterday and stood before Hung Liu's *Three Fujins* — that layered, ghostly beauty reminded me that sometimes the most powerful image is the one that almost wasn't there. Almirón is that kind of player — he drifts, he ghosts, and then suddenly the net moves. Australia defend with admirable organization but their attack carries the timidity of a team afraid to lose rather than hungry to win, and in a neutral arena like Santa Clara, Paraguay's creative midfield superiority will slowly unpick that cautious rearguard. Gatito Fernández stands firm behind a disciplined back line, and I expect one moment of Paraguayan ingenuity — a backheel, a diagonal, a thought that arrives before anyone else's — to settle this quietly.

Paraguay carry more attacking intent here, but Australia's defensive block is genuinely formidable — that DF area advantage is the story of this match, and I'd back the Socceroos to absorb everything Paraguay throw at them with disciplined, compact lines. Almirón will probe and Enciso will look to create chaos, but without a clear numerical edge to exploit, they'll find Izzo largely untroubled behind a back line that simply won't be moved. On the Santa Clara trip, I attempted a sourdough version of San Francisco's famous Dutch Crunch roll — technically not a pastry, but I couldn't resist, and the result was somewhere between authentic and ambitious. A goalless draw feels right — two sides cancelling each other out beautifully, which honestly, as a man who appreciates a clean defensive sheet, I find quietly satisfying.