“I am lucky to work with this generation, because there is a girl who… I don’t know how far this girl can go,” Paraguay coach Luiz Almeida told FIFA after the country’s 4-1 victory over New Zealand at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2025™.
The player he’s speaking about is, of course, Claudia Martinez, who almost single-handedly dismantled New Zealand in a space of 15 minutes in the second half. Paraguay was in control of the game, but went into half-time behind 1-0. “Unfortunately, we conceded a goal, which can happen,” Almeida said. “In the second half, we maintained our concentration and focus, and Claudia gave us a gift.”
Seeing her play, you almost forget that Martinez is only 17 years old. She showcased her array of talents on all three goals, exhibiting exquisite skill to control the ball on the first, displaying breathtaking speed for her second goal, and then showing the presence of mind to strike for her third. “She proved her class, her and [Alison Bareiro] really picked us apart,” acknowledged New Zealand coach Alana Gunn.
Martinez’s outstanding performance did not come as a surprise to those who followed her exploits with the senior team at the Copa America Femenina earlier this year: After scoring a hat-trick in Paraguay’s opening game against Bolivia, Martinez added three more goals to finish as joint-top scorer of the tournament with Brazil’s Amanda Gutierres.
Now, Martinez is back to playing with her age group. This Paraguay team already raised eyebrows earlier this year when they beat out South American powerhouse Brazil to win the South American U-17 Championship for the first time. “She works well with Alison [Bareiro] and Sofia [Cabrera], and also with the midfielders. But she has incredible finishing power,” Almeida said.
“She was definitely the most important player in the South American Championship,” he added. “So we were able to become champions for the first time in the history of the South American Championship.”
In Morocco, Paraguay have been able to write even more history: The 2-1 victory against Zambia on matchday one was their first-ever victory on the world stage, and the triumph over New Zealand secured their first-ever progress to the knockout stages.
Two matches into the tournament, Martinez has already been crowned Player of the Match twice, and her hat-trick against New Zealand catapulted her up in the top scorer rankings. “I feel first and foremost, proud of myself, of the work I’ve been doing throughout this process,” Martinez told FIFA after her spectacular performance. “And it’s a huge honour to wear the Paraguayan shirt and badge.”
Paraguay have already achieved much this year, but they’re certainly not done yet, as Almeida said: “We’re going to try to keep going, because we have a good competitive team and we have a girl who can give us the victory against anyone.”
