Not to be confused with Matías Galarza (Argentine footballer).

Matías Galarza
Galarza in 2022
Personal information
Full name Matías Galarza Fonda
Date of birth (2002-02-11) 11 February 2002 (age 24)
Place of birth Asunción, Paraguay
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
River Plate
Youth career
2015–2021 Olimpia
2020–2021 → Vasco da Gama (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021 Olimpia 0 (0)
2021 → Vasco da Gama (loan) 10 (2)
2021–2025 Vasco da Gama 54 (5)
2022 → Coritiba (loan) 11 (0)
2023–2024 → Talleres (loan) 40 (5)
2025 Talleres 13 (0)
2025– River Plate 10 (0)
2026 → Atlanta United (loan) 10 (0)
International career‡
2017 Paraguay U15
2019 Paraguay U17 3 (0)
2022– Paraguay 19 (4)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:45, 23 June 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 4 July 2026

Matías Galarza Fonda (born 11 February 2002) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Argentinian club River Plate and the Paraguay national team.

Club career

Born in Asunción, Galarza represented hometown side Olimpia. On 19 June 2020, he moved on loan to Brazilian club Vasco da Gama until 2022, and was initially assigned to the under-20 squad.[1]

After impressing with the under-20s, Galarza made his senior debut on 3 March 2021, after coming on as a half-time substitute for Vinícius in a 0–1 Campeonato Carioca home loss against Portuguesa;[2] at the age of 19, he became the youngest foreigner to play for Vasco in the 21st century.[3] He scored his first goal as a professional on 24 March, netting his team's third in a 3–1 home success over Macaé.[4]

On 20 May 2021, Galarza signed a permanent contract with Vasco until 2025,[5] after the club bought 60% of his economic rights for a fee of US$ 500,000.[6] A regular starter during the remainder of the campaign, he lost his starting spot in 2022.

On 4 April 2022, Galarza moved to Série A side Coritiba on loan for the remainder of the year.[7] He later joined Talleres on loan with an option to buy on 31 August 2023.[8]

On 24 July 2025, he joined River Plate, signing a contract until 31 December 2028.[9] In March 2026, he joined MLS side Atlanta United on loan with an option to make the move permanent in the summer.[10]

International career

Galarza made his debut for the Paraguay national team on 31 August 2022, in a 1–0 friendly victory against Mexico.[11]

He was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[12] In Paraguay's second match of the tournament, he scored the only goal after 64 seconds and was named Man of the Match in a 1–0 victory over Turkey, despite his side playing the entire second half with ten men.[13] This recorded the fastest goal of the tournament to date, surpassing the previous record of 71 seconds set by Morocco's Ismael Saibari against Scotland hours earlier in Boston.[14] In Paraguay's match against France on July 4, 2026, he was heavily criticized by fans and pundits for striking Kylian Mbappé and not receiving a red card, along with other unpunished behavior.[15][16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 16 May 2026[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League State league National cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Vasco da Gama 2021 Série B 21 1 11 2 4 0 — — 36 3
2022 0 0 5 0 0 0 — — 5 0
2023 Série A 10 1 7 1 0 0 — — 17 2
Total 31 2 23 3 4 0 — — 58 5
Coritiba (loan) 2022 Série A 11 0 — 0 0 — — 11 0
Talleres (loan) 2023 AFA Liga Profesional de Fútbol 9 0 — 0 0 — — 9 0
2024 31 3 — 3 0 7[a] 0 — 41 3
Total 40 3 — 3 0 7 0 — 50 3
Talleres 2025 AFA Liga Profesional de Fútbol 13 0 — 0 0 4[a] 0 — 17 0
River Plate AFA Liga Profesional de Fútbol 10 0 — 2 0 2[a] 0 — 14 0
Atlanta United (loan) 2026 MLS 10 0 3 0 — — — 13 0
Career total 115 8 26 3 9 0 13 0 0 0 163 11
  1. ^ a b c Appearances in Copa Libertadores

International

As of match played 4 July 2026[18]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Paraguay 2022 3 0
2023 1 0
2024 1 0
2025 8 2
2026 6 2
Total 19 4

Scores and results list Paraguay's goal tally first.[18]

List of international goals scored by Matías Galarza
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 June 2025 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay 8  Uruguay 1–0 2–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 9 September 2025 Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru 10  Peru 1–0 1–0
3 5 June 2026 Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay 15  Nicaragua 3–0 4–0 Friendly
4 19 June 2026 Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, United States 16  Turkey 1–0 1–0 2026 FIFA World Cup

References

  1. ^ "Vasco anuncia a contratação de jovem meio-campista paraguaio" [Vasco announce the signing of young Paraguayan midfielder] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Lance!. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Com sub-20, Vasco estreia com derrota para Portuguesa no Carioca" [With under-20s, Vasco debut with defeat to Portuguesa in the Carioca] (in Brazilian Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Matías Galarza, o estrangeiro mais novo a atuar pelo Vasco no Século 21" [Matías Galarza, the youngest foreigner to play for Vasco in the 21st century] (in Brazilian Portuguese). CR Vasco da Gama. 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Carioca: Galarza faz golaço, Vasco derrota e Macaé e vence a primeira na competição" [Carioca: Galarza scores great goal, Vasco defeat Macaé and win the first one in the competition] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Matías Galarza é do Vasco da Gama!" [Matías Galarza is of Vasco da Gama!] (in Brazilian Portuguese). CR Vasco da Gama. 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Vasco anuncia compra dos direitos de Galarza" [Vasco announces the acquisition of Galarza's rights] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Seja bem-vindo, Matías Galarza" [Welcome, Matías Galarza] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Coritiba FBC. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Matías Galarza es refuerzo de Talleres" (in Spanish). Talleres de Córdoba. 31 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Matías Galarza, nuevo jugador de River Plate" (in Spanish). Club Atlético River Plate. 24 July 2025. Archived from the original on 30 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Galarza Fonda fue anunciado como nuevo jugador de Atlanta United" (in Spanish). ESPN. 2 March 2026.
  11. ^ "México 0–1 Paraguay" (in Spanish). ESPN. 31 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Paraguay Announces Squad for 2026 FIFA World Cup". Heavy.com. 1 June 2026. Archived from the original on 1 June 2026. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  13. ^ "Ten-man Paraguay send Türkiye crashing out". FIFA. 20 June 2026.
  14. ^ "2026 World Cup: Hours after Morocco's Ismael Saibari delivers fastest goal, Paraguay's Matias Galarza sets new record". Yahoo Sports. 20 June 2026.
  15. ^ "📸 Hit on Mbappé: did Paraguay get away with one here?". OneFootball. 4 July 2026. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  16. ^ Crafton, Adam; Stafford-Bloor, Sebastian; James, Stuart; Lawrence, Amy; Harris, Thom (4 July 2026). "Victorious Mbappe levels Messi in World Cup golden boot race, did Paraguay's tactics go too far?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  17. ^ Matías Galarza at Soccerway. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Matías Galarza". National Football Teams.