ASUNCION, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Paraguay captain Gustavo Gomez said Monday that his team is ready to return to the FIFA World Cup finals after a 16-year absence.

The Guaranies need only a point from their final two qualifiers against Ecuador in Asuncion on Thursday and Peru in Lima five days later to clinch a place in football's showpiece next year.

"We're very motivated," Gomez told a news conference on Monday. "We can return to a World Cup after 16 years and that fills us with confidence."

The Palmeiras center-back said that Paraguay would need to be at its best to reach its objective against Ecuador, despite its home advantage at the Defensores del Chaco stadium.

While Paraguay is fifth in the 10-team South American group, Ecuador is second and already guaranteed a berth at next year's tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

"It's an important match and expectations are high, but we're close to achieving our goal, and we're taking it one match at a time," the 32-year-old said.

"Ecuador has top-tier players, and we're preparing in the best possible way to maintain our momentum.

Paraguay last qualified for the World Cup finals in 2010, when it was eliminated by eventual champion Spain in the quarterfinals. ■