Claudia Martínez Ovado: A herald of Paraguay's golden age?

Claudia Martínez Ovado’s path to football was more tortuous than it should have been. Yet she never gave up on her dream, and within a few years, after playing handball and minifootball, she had established herself as one of the world’s top talents in her age group.

Claudia grew up with her parents and four siblings in the small Paraguayan town of Capitán Bado, where, due to its proximity to Brazil, mainly Portuguese and the Guaraní language are spoken.

It was her father who sparked her love of football, as he used to play himself and would take his daughter along to matches. However, there weren’t many opportunities for girls to play football in the region, so Claudia focused primarily on handball for a long time.

When you have to fight for the chance to play football

The turning point came when she was offered the chance to try five-a-side football, where she could fully demonstrate her talent and thus begin her journey in traditional football.

Claudia soon moved to Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, where she joined first division club Sportivo Ameliano. After one season there, during which the young footballer also worked on improving her Spanish, she was scouted by Olimpia, which, unlike Ameliano, could offer her a spot on a team competing for the domestic title.

Although she signed a four-year contract with the club before the end of 2025 and everything seemed to indicate that she would continue to pursue her football ambitions in her home country, she ultimately couldn’t resist the lure of renowned foreign clubs.

While there was speculation about interest from Barcelona, Lyon, and the two most prominent clubs in Madrid, Claudia ultimately chose the American NWSL, specifically the Washington Spirit, which paid nearly a million dollars for her transfer.

The American Dream

In the end, the American league seemed like a fairly logical choice. It is generally considered the most competitive and physically demanding league in the world, and another advantage is that Washington’s coaching staff is currently predominantly Spanish-speaking. Claudia, whose role model is, fittingly, Lionel Messi, has also never made a secret of the fact that her goal is to play either in Spain or in the U.S.

Claudinha, as this Paraguayan gem is nicknamed, now plays for Spirit on a regular basis, primarily coming off the bench as a substitute: “We want to be patient with her because we know that coming to this league is always a big step. It's her first experience abroad, and we know that that’s going to take some time,” coach Adrián González said about her at the start of the season, according to The Athletic.

As the youngest player on the squad, Claudia has scored four goals so far for the team based in the US capital: three in the league and one in the CONCACAF W Champions Cup, a competition in which Spirit advanced all the way to the final.

The Sorceress of the Paraguayan National Team

However, Claudia caused the biggest stir while playing in the national team jersey. Her most significant achievement came at the 2025 South American U-17 Women's Championship, where she scored ten goals to lead Paraguay to the gold medal, which was the greatest ever success in the history of Paraguayan women's football.

She was first called up to the senior national team at the age of sixteen. Her performance at the 2025 Copa América Femenina shocked the world. In the very first match against Bolivia, she scored a hat-trick, as well as goals against Colombia, Brazil (which ultimately won the entire event) and Venezuela. Along with Brazil’s Amanda Gutierres, she became the tournament’s top scorer with six goals, which earned her the attention of sports media outlets across the globe.

Claudia is particularly strong when it comes to finishing, but her speed and ability to use her weaker left foot are also impressive. Thanks to her technical skills and athleticism, she is able to create scoring opportunities very often, even in situations where others would give up.

It certainly comes as no surprise that she was the first Paraguayan woman to attend the prestigious Ballon d’Or awards ceremony, where she was nominated for the Kopa Trophy for the best female player under the age of 21.

The Paraguayan revelation, who is also fuelled by the desire to provide a comfortable life for her family back in Capitán Bado, has a world of possibilities and opportunities ahead of her. Claudia makes no secret of the fact that her biggest dream is to win the World Cup for her country, and given her performance on the national team so far, that is by no means an impossible goal.