Those expecting a comfortable win for Spain here were, in the view of this writer, being somewhat disrespectful to a Paraguay side who had displayed tremendous organisation throughout the World Cup, even if it had not always been allied to attacking flair. Gerardo Martino had, however, drawn the conclusion from the dire game with Japan that his side needed to present an attacking threat and ask questions of the Spanish defence to pos...More

PARAGUAY 0 SPAIN 1 Villa 82 Spain limped through to their first World Cup semi-final with a late victory over Paraguay. David Villa scored with eight minutes remaining after both sides had earlier missed penalties within a minute of each other. Jonathan Santana shot straight at Iker Casillas from the edge of the area in the first minute as Paraguay started brightly. Cristian Riveros headed wide at the near post from 10 yards aft...More

Before the World Cup kicked off, some people predicted Paraguay would have a difficult campaign - many expected them to go out at the group stage. This was something the squad certainly did not agree with and set themselves an aim of a quarter-final place, which was proved to be correct on Tuesday afternoon. After two hours of football and no goals, the game had to come down to dreaded penalties. The Paraguay squad relished that oppor...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