{"id":331744,"date":"2026-07-07T12:41:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T12:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/331744\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T12:41:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T12:41:29","slug":"paraguay-goalkeeper-to-get-back-the-jersey-he-sold-to-support-his-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/331744\/","title":{"rendered":"Paraguay goalkeeper to get back the jersey he sold to support his baby"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Orlando Gill walked alone to his goal \u2014 the fate of Paraguay\u2019s World Cup<\/a> hopes on his shoulders.\n <\/p>\n

\n The goalkeeper touched the crossbar and bounced along his line. He stretched out his arms and clapped gloved hands together, in front of thousands of German fans who wanted nothing more than to see him beaten by the striker.\n <\/p>\n

\n And still, the sudden-death penalty shootout last week<\/a> in Massachusetts was not the most stressful moment of his life. Before he stood on the verge of becoming a national hero, he was a new father, trying to help his family.\n <\/p>\n

\n In December 2022, his son was born prematurely after an emergency C-section and needed expensive intensive care. Gill wasn\u2019t a teen sensation like Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 or Lamine Yamal, earning millions at the world\u2019s top clubs. But he had played once for his country\u2019s under-20 national team and still had the shirt. Seeking to raise money to care for his wife and tiny baby, he tried to sell all he had, including the jersey.\n <\/p>\n

\n His wife, Melissa Avalos, recalled that time \u2014 \u201cthe hardest moment of our lives\u201d \u2014 after he finally made the full national team in September 2025.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cLauti was born and we had nothing, and Orlando sold the gear from the club he played for at the time just to cover expenses,\u201d she wrote<\/a> on Instagram. \u201cHe sold everything \u2014 he sold his U-20 national team jersey (he couldn\u2019t even keep it as a memento), he sold his gear, his sneakers \u2026 literally, he sold EVERYTHING!\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Gill<\/p>\n

\n Gill saved the first shot in the penalty shootout against Germany, diving to his left and smacking away the ball headed for the back of the net. He blocked another shot, too, propelling Paraguay to the next round of the World Cup.\n <\/p>\n

\n His wife posted<\/a> a picture of her and Gill with their son in the stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. \u201cThe three of us \u2014 Orlando, Lauti, and I \u2014 will always be together, united, and full of love,\u201d she wrote. In the photo, Gill smiles, in clothes adorned with the logo of Paraguay\u2019s \u201cLa Albirroja\u201d and with his World Cup credentials around his neck.\n <\/p>\n

\n He could soon be reunited with the fluorescent yellow jersey he wore the first time he represented his country as a teenager in 2019.\n <\/p>\n

\n An old friend, Pedro Su\u00e1rez, told CNN he still had the shirt Gill wore at the South American U-20 Championship in 2019 in Chile, and would happily give it back.\n <\/p>\n

\n Su\u00e1rez said Gill was uncomfortable asking for money in his time of need without offering something in return, and that\u2019s how he came to give him some cash \u2014 and how Gill came to part with the shirt.\n <\/p>\n

\"Gill<\/p>\n

\"Su\u00e1rez<\/p>\n

\n \u201cHe was dealing with the problem of his son being born prematurely. Then came the death of his beloved mother. Then his uncle. It all happened one after another,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Su\u00e1rez came to know Gill through Avalos, his old neighbor, whom he described as a \u201cbrave woman\u201d and a fighter.\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s been two years since they have all seen each other, as Gill now plays in Argentina, but Su\u00e1rez said they have tentative plans to meet, now that the team is back in Paraguay after losing to France.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cHe still hasn\u2019t paid me back,\u201d a laughing Su\u00e1rez told CNN about the money he gave Gill. \u201cBut that\u2019s in the past. I\u2019ll give him his jersey. If he wants to give me something, he will, but I don\u2019t care. He was my friend, and I helped him however I could.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n These days, Gill has a much bigger pool of people rooting for his success. He has nearly a million followers on his Instagram account, some of whom dug out an old post he wrote before he ever made the national team and wore the jersey.\n <\/p>\n

\n In June 2018, before he made the youth team and long before the World Cup, Gill wrote<\/a>: \u201cOne day I will say: it was difficult but I did it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Many comments on that post now echo one message: \u201cYou did it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n