The Blue Samurai’s dream of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time was shattered after a penalty-shoot out defeat to Paraguay, with Coach Takeshi Okada claiming he is set to retire following his side’s elimination. After a dire encounter, in which neither side were committed to attack, Japan lost 5-3 in the first penalty shoot-out of this year’s World Cup after Yuichi Komano’s spot-kick hit the crossbar. Following Jap...More

The knockout stage of any football tournament is always liable to increase both excitement and anticipation as the winner-take-all nature of the ties means there can be no second chances. Some teams may still insist on caginess over ambition, but eventually even they must conjure up a way of winning. The World Cup is no different. The last-16 provides an opportunity for the contenders to go through the gears and also gives an oppo...More

It may have been an achingly soporific affair with two teams either adopting a hugely negative approach, or as is more likely on this occasion, just suffering from a large bout of stage fright due to the unfamiliar magnitude of the game for the two sets of players, but in the end Paraguay’s victory over Japan on penalties yesterday confirmed the South American teams at this World Cup are the most successful. As the Paraguayans attem...More

Day 19 of the World Cup saw the goals begin to dry up with just one effort from the two last 16 encounters. The first penalty shoot-out of the tournament did take place however, with Paraguay coming out on top against a spirited Japan side. The game of the day saw Spain narrowly edge out Portugal thanks to David Villa, who moves to the top of the goal scoring charts, taking his tally to four goals. PARAGUAY 0 JAPAN 0 Paraguay win...More

PARAGUAY 0 JAPAN 0 Paraguay win 5-3 on penalties Paraguay progressed to their first ever World Cup quarter-final, beating Japan 5-3 on penalties after a dire 120 minutes of negative football. Yuichi Komano hit the bar with the third Japanese spot kick, leaving Oscar Cardozo to net the winning penalty to send the Paraguayans through. Japan had two sighters at goal within the first three minutes. Yoshito Okubo cut in from th...More

The last 16 comes to a close at the World Cup. Firstly, a Paraguay and Japan clash in a battle of the underdogs. And then Spain and Portugal meet in the match with plenty encouragement for goals, on paper at least. PARAGUAY vs. JAPAN3.00pm –Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria One of these outsiders has the chance to put the cat amongst the pigeons at the World Cup, with an unexpected quarterfinal spot in store for the winner between...More