Portsmouth's Gustavo Caballero has made it to the football pinnacle as part of the Paraguay squad, with the tournament kicking off in North America next Thursday. La Albirroja signed off with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Nicaragua last night, with the January signing from Brazilian giants Santos left on the bench in Asuncion. Caballero actually moved closer to gaining World Cup playing time, however, as Gustavo Alfaro's side were dealt a significant setback with key man Julio Ensico forced off through injury in the first half. The former Brighton and Ipswich attacker was left punching the turf in frustration, as he was withdrawn after 25 minutes through a muscle injury and is now expected to miss his country's opener against USA next Saturday. That pushes Caballero up the pecking order, with Encisco operating on the left flank where the 25-year-old largely played before his Pompey arrival. The man who made 12 Blues appearances after signing on loan in January is still pinching himself at his international emergence, with Caballero admitting his move to PO4 has been central to his Paraguay breakthrough. And the man from San Lorenzo smiled he's still not come down to earth after making it into his country's squad. Speaking to Unicanal after his country's win last night, Caballero said: 'It all started by looking for opportunity and continuity outside of what Santos was. 'I went in search of that, but being honest I went to get continuity - well, thank god, that led me to being part of the list of 26 players. I'm really very happy about that. 'I'm not coming down yet, that's the truth I'm not falling yet! 'Once we set foot there in the United States, we are going to measure everything that this is because it is something very big. 'So I think that once we are there we will see the size of everything.' It remains to be seen if Caballero returns to Pompey next season, but it appears to be a move John Mousinho's interested in at the right price. The Blues' exclusive option to sign Caballero for £2.5m has passed, with the head coach keen to do a deal if his club's valuation is deemed acceptable by Santos. He told The News at the end of April: 'Everything is considered when deciding whether to buy Gustavo. 'Cost, performance, injuries and strategy around what we would do elsewhere. If that money goes into signing him, what do we give up in terms of other players we could possibly bring into that position and other players we could bring into the squad? 'He fares pretty well on performance and pretty well on injury, apart from the fact he's injured at the minute, but it's not a disastrous one. 'The big question will be on that price point and whether we think that's a fair reflection of what we believe the market value is. To be honest, in terms of Gus, we'll see what happens in the summer and look to try to negotiate that. 'The fixed transfer fee and the option is