Sunderland defender Paulo da Silva is backing Paraguay teammate Cristian Riveros to be a big hit on Wearside.

Riveros joined Sunderland on a Bosman from Mexico's Cruz Azul before the World Cup.

Da Silva told safc.com: "Cristian is a big player for us and, the way he's playing right now shows how good he can be and he's performing fantastically for the team at present.

"As we've seen so far in the World Cup, he's a player that not only makes and creates goals for others, he scores them as well.

"I think he will be able to translate his form for Sunderland and will become a big player for us."