Round of 16: Day 4

Paraguay Prevail Eventually

Japan   0 (3)-(5) 0   Paraguay  AET

Japan and Paraguay played out what was the only goalless game of the second round in Pretoria. While it may have been the dullest game of the last four days it still managed to end in high drama as Paraguay won in what was the tournament's first penalty shoot out.

Both sides qualified for this stage with impressive performances in their respective groups but both appeared to be more afraid of defeat at this stage as both were pursuing their first ever quarter final spot.

Paraguay topped Group F ahead of Italy and comfortably beat fellow qualifiers Slovakia, while Japan were one of only two second placed teams to win two of their three games.

Despite that, they both played out a dire encounter at Loftus Versfeld. Neither side seemed interested in going for the win, focusing mainly on not conceded, especially the Japanese.

The Blue Samurai played an intense, emotional affair with Denmark only days earlier and they looked to have used up all their energy in getting this far. Their lack of ambition swung the balance in favour of Paraguay, who probably did more of the two to actually win the game in 120 minutes.

The power of penalties can never be underestimated even after the most boring of games. Even with all that occurred in the previous two hours the shoot out had the drama and emotion to make this a memorable match up. The villain of the piece was Yuichi Komano, who struck his country's third penalty off the crossbar. His tears summed up the magnitude of his miss and the burden he'll have to bare for the remainder of his life.

Paraguay meanwhile slotted five perfect penalties to win by five to three in what was an emotional experience for all, including Paraguay's Argentinian manager Gerardo Martino who was in floods of tears after Oscar Cardozo scored the winning spot kick.

The South Americans move on to play European champions Spain in the quarter finals. Further defensive expertise should be expected in a game that may bare similarities to Paraguay's second round meeting with France in 1998, which was decided by a Laurent Blanc golden goal.    


Seleccion oust Selaccao

         Spain   1-0   Portugal

Spain defeated their Iberian neighbours in Cape Town on Tuesday night in what was a fully deserved victory over a poor Portugal team. La Furia Roja now go on to face Paraguay in the quarter finals in confidence that their World Cup dream is still alive despite losing their first game to Switzerland.

One goal from David Villa was enough to secure victory against a Portugal team that was lacking in direction going forward. The Spanish made the most of the Portuguese ineptitude by taking one of the few chances that came their way.

For all their problems, the Portuguese were probably the better side in the first half. They controlled the ball better and enjoyed a lot of possession. Spain were thwarted every time they tried to create something and the defence was comfortable for the most part.

Their problems were more evident in the second half. Cristiano Ronaldo was selfish and wasteful and there looked to be no cohesion between the midfield trio, the wingers and Hugo Almeida up front. With the Portuguese unlikely to score, Spain could patiently bide their time in belief that another chance would come.

David Villa eventually popped up for la seleccion and gave them the goal that took them into the quarter finals for the third time in five tournaments. Their previous recent appearances ended in defeat in 1994 and 2002 but there is a feeling that this time may be different.

For the remainder of the game the Spanish passed the ball around effortlessly, almost creating chances at will for Sergio Ramos, Fernando Llorente and Villa, while the Portuguese persevered without an end result.     

For Portugal, the inquest will begin. Their own goals came against North Korea and they never looked like scoring against Ivory Coast, Brazil and Spain. Some players looked uninterested and Carlos Queiros is clearly not to everybody's taste.

Spain are not perfect either though. This is not the free flowing excitement of 2008 unfortunately mainly because both Fernando Torres is out of sorts and Sergio Busquets is on the pitch. Vicente del Bosque has preferred a safety first approach with two defensive midfielders as opposed to his predecessors approach of just having one in Marcos Senna. 

For Spain to thrill us once again they should revert to the formation of 2008 with David Silva replacing Busquets with Xabi Alonso reverting to the more defensive role and Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Silva allowed to pass and roam at will. Such freedom looks unlikely however. The opening defeat has left Spain worried of a repeat scenario and not conceding has taking precedence.