VANCOUVER, BC – The Paraguayan Football Association confirmed on Monday that Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Andrés Cubas has earned a spot on Paraguay’s final 26-man roster for the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
Cubas, who is widely regarded as the top defensive midfielder in MLS, first joined Whitecaps FC in April 2022. Since then, he has started 127 of his 136 appearances across all competitions. This season, he has started 12 of 14 appearances across all competitions and leads MLS in tackles with 26. While he had been on the pitch, the ‘Caps have only conceded six goals and hold a +18 goal differential – in fact, the Blue and White had not conceded a goal in his first 644 minutes played this year. On the offensive side, the Paraguayan international has already tied his MLS career high with three assists this season.
The 30-year-old midfielder has represented Paraguay in 32 matches since 2019, starting in 30 of those. Most notably, Cubas played a pivotal role in Paraguay’s qualifying campaign, helping La Albirroja make their first World Cup in 16 years. Cubas started in 13 matches and played 1,126 minutes during CONMEBOL qualifiers, the ninth most amongst midfielders.
Paraguay have been drawn into Group D and will open their campaign against the United States on June 12 in Los Angeles, where Cubas could face fellow Whitecaps FC teammate Sebastian Berhalter. La Albirroja will then travel to San Francisco to take on Türkiye on June 19 and will wrap up the Group Stage against Australia on June 25 in San Francisco.
Born in Argentina, Cubas played for his birth-country at the U-20 level, starting in two of his three appearances at the 2015 U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.
Cubas becomes the third player on the ‘Caps current roster, following Rayan Elloumi (Tunisia) and Sebastian Berhalter (United States), as well as the sixth active Whitecaps FC player after Steven Beitashour (Iran, 2014), Kendall Waston (Costa Rica, 2018), and Lucas Cavallini (Canada, 2022). The 2026 tournament also marks the fourth consecutive to feature active Whitecaps FC players.
Seven Whitecaps FC first team players have been called up during this FIFA international window, including Cubas, Ralph Priso (Canada pre-World Cup camp), Sebastian Berhalter (United States), Rayan Elloumi (Tunisia), Bruno Caicedo (Ecuador pre-World Cup camp), Liam Mackenzie (Canada U-20), and Kenji Cabrera (Peru).