Paraguay (National Football)

With the quarterfinals set to kick off on Friday afternoon at 4pm local time, the World will be watching as Brazil will face the Netherlands.

While both had relative ease through the group stages and then breezed through the Round of 16, now they face a tough battle ahead.

Many similarities can be drawn between the two; both pose great individual talent yet they have been groomed well enough to embrace a total team effort.

The next match to follow is that of Uruguay and African hopefuls Ghana—a match that won't be missed by many Africans.

The host South Africa has called on its people to stand united and support Ghana. While Ghana pose a threat going forward with Asamoah Gyan, they lack defensive ability.

On the other side, Uruguay doesn’t have a potent defense, but going forward with Luis Suárez and Diego Forlan they are lethal.

Uruguay will look at the other quarterfinalists and feel this might be their best chance to progress, simply due to the pressure that could be placed on Ghana to produce.

Saturday will feature the third and fourth quarterfinal matches. The afternoon kick-off will see another eagerly anticipated clash when two former champions go head-to-head in Cape Town, Diego Maradona's Argentina will face Germany.

Argentina is the fourth of the South American teams that pose one of the most attacking forces at the World Cup. While many would fear the individual brilliance that Argentina possesses, Germany has a great team going forward coupled with good players on the flanks.

Argentina will have to ensure they compact at the back, going forward they have enough but the key will be for Maradona to find the right balance.

Saturday evening will dish out another great encounter when current European Champions will look to overcome Paraguay.

While many anticipate a walkover by the Spanish, I personally feel the Paraguayans will be hungry and could prove a tough nut to crack.

Spain will look to dominate through their possession game and try to break down the defence pass-by-pass.

Although we can make our prediction, football seems to always surprise us, what we might think happen, usually doesn’t.

For many who are hoping for a classic, let's pray we are not disappointed.

Remember the much-awaited clash between Brazil and Portugal in the group stage? Luckily for us, this is a knockout match, which means both teams will look for goals and try to defend their goal line.

Another factor that unfortunately has to be taken into account is the referee. We have already seen a number of dubious decisions that have in some way been a reflection of the final outcome.

In my opinion, all four South American teams have a chance to qualify for the semifinals, with Paraguay having the toughest match of the lot.

And then there were eight.

Spain was expected to be here.

Paraguay? Maybe not so much.

Both Paraguay and Slovakia advancing out of their group, instead of Italy, might be the shocker of the tournament so far.

The South American country, one of four in the quarterfinals, has not exactly been putting on an offensive show in the World Cup, with a 1-1 draw with Italy, and then a 2-0 victory over Slovakia. Then, in the final game of the group stage, they drew 0-0 with New Zealand.

In the round of 16, they again had a 0-0 draw with Japan, and then advanced on penalty kicks.

They have scored only three goals in four games, yet find themselves, for the first time ever, in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Spain started out the tournament poorly, losing to Switzerland 0-1.

They have recovered nicely from this shocking defeat over the last three games.

First, they experienced a 2-0 win over Honduras and a 2-1 victory over Chile in the final two group games.

Then, their round of 16 win over Portugal was their most difficult test to date, and they handled it well, winning 1-0.

"It was one of my best goals because it got us through to the next round," said the goal scorer, David Villa, afterward.

Spain outshot their rival Portugal 19-9, and they kept Cristiano Ronaldo quiet and mostly frustrated the whole night.

"The match was extremely intense," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said in the press conference. "In the second half, we were better than Portugal. We had greater depth in our play, and we controlled the game very well."

Spain moves on to the quarterfinals for the sixth time. They have only advanced past the quarters once, and have never won football's most prestigious award.

Spain joins Germany and the Netherlands as the only three European teams in the round of eight.

This is the fewest number for Europe ever in the World Cup Quarterfinals.

For Paraguay, one of the biggest challenges that faces them moving forward, in taking on heavily-favored Spain, will be to forget the historic achievement and concentrate on the task at hand.

"Obviously we are having a party, we're celebrating together with the rest of the people of Paraguay,'' coach Gerardo Martino said after the win over Japan. "I can imagine the happiness of the people there, and of course let them enjoy it.

"I've seen the players make a huge effort. It was a very close match and of course now we celebrate the fact we're in the quarter-finals.''

The goal for Paraguay: Limit the chances and, hopefully, the goals by Spain. They must hope for another scoreless draw or perhaps 1-1.

Spain will rely on Sergio Busquets directing play from midfield. In the game with Portugal he was brilliant, completing an incredible 97 of 102 passes.

In fact, as a team, Spain is passing the ball at this World Cup at a 88.6 percent accuracy, as of now, the fourth highest in World Cup since 1966. This helped them to hold the ball for 61 percent of the time against Portugal.

Paraguay must then control and limit the quality touches of one David Villa. He is in top form, to say the least. His four goals are tied for the tournament lead with Robert Vittek and Gonzalo Higuain.

Paraguay's midfielder Cristian Riveros may be given the duty of shutting down Villa. But if you shut down Villa, does that give free run to Xavi?

Paraguay will rely on a long range attack with Roque Santa Cruz. Outside of set pieces, this will be their best chance to score.

If Spain can score an early goal, it may spell the end to any chances the South American team has. Paraguay must stay even or somehow get a lead themselves.

A tall task indeed, but Spain is beatable. Just ask the Swiss.

Prediction: Spain 2-0.

Wow! The holders of the 2006 FIFA World Cup are out in the first round - winless and bottom of their group. Also exiting stage left are New Zealand, Cameroon and, a little more shockingly, Denmark.

Italy (E)

This grade is more about Italy's overall disappointing performance over three games rather than today's effort (which would have been a C-), where they lost 3-2 to upstart Slovakia. What amazed us was Marcelo Lippi's management skills. At 1-0 down, Lippi refused to change things, despite the fact that his country was in the crapper. Where was Pirlo, who was brilliant when he came on and was Italy's man of the match?

The Italians will probably curse the officials for an offside that was as close as they come, and for not giving the team more time because of Slovakian second half time-wasting.  However, it was the appalling defending that let in the first goal, and the lack of marking for the second that really cost them - as well as two inept performances against Paraguay and New Zealand. What's next? Ignominy and a rude reception in Rome upon their return.

Slovakia (B+)

When the Slovakian players weren't constantly falling to the floor, they were actually quite good footballers. They passed the ball well, finished chances given to them, and definitely contributed to one of the most exciting games of football you'll ever likely see. We look forward to more of them soon.

What's next? The second round, and a tie against the Netherlands - who will probably beat them handily.

Netherlands (B-)

We didn't see too much of Holland in their group games, but did they ever really get out of second gear? The Netherlands have a devastating amount of talent at their disposal, and that's why we reckon they are hot favourites to at least get to the semi-finals. Nine points out of a possible nine isn't a bad way to start a tournament - England would have loved another win, wouldn't they? What's next? Slovakia, and then the quarterfinals.

New Zealand (A)

We expected 'The All Whites' to get slaughtered in their three group games, and how wrong we were. Today's effort against Paraguay was yet another plucky effort, and we loved seeing the team play in black.

They battled for every inch of their turf once again, and anyone who is a New Zealander should be proud of their country's efforts over the last few weeks. We just wish they'd scored a victory to really upset the world, and seen a haka. We missed both. What's next? Hopefully an incredible reception in Auckland.

Japan (B)

Japan play some pretty football, and they can also shoot. Just ask Denmark keeper Thomas Sorenson, who let through two of the loveliest free-kicks you're ever likely to see. Driven on by Honda, their striker (no pun intended), Japan were skillful, continually remembering to actually move for a pass - something that England struggled to do against Algeria. What's next? A monster, but winnable clash with Paraguay.

Paraguay (C)

If you want to scare people, it's probably not the best of results to only draw with New Zealand, is it? If we're honest, we weren't too in love with Paraguay after the Italy game, and we aren't feeling the same for them this time, despite the fact that they finished top of their group. What's up? Japan.

Cameroon (D)

I had to laugh at the nickname 'The Indomitable Lions', because Cameroon proved to be anything but indomitable in South Africa. They were outclassed by the Dutch, and will go home having ventured little and gained nothing. What's next? Regrouping before the next African Nations Cup.

Denmark (C)

It must be really annoying for a set of fans to see their team go out of the World Cup when, once again, they were expected to at least go to the second round. But tonight, they were outclassed by Japan, who won 3-1 in a superb game between sides needing the victory to guarantee qualification for the knock-out stages.

Denmark will be looking to give Niklaus Bendtner shooting lessons when all is said is done, as he missed another two good chances in Thursday's game. What's next? European qualifiers, and reminding the crowing Swedish fans which country actually made the finals.

New Zealand has managed to maintain its unbeaten record in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, thanks in large part to the continuing inaccuracy of Paraguay.

Out of the 17 shots made by Paraguay, only five were on target, which simply is not good enough for a team playing at this level.  It is a problem that the Paraguayan coach, Gerardo Martino, will need to address before the team heads into its next match, or it will be their last.

Paraguay did play a better game than New Zealand. That much is beyond question, but in the end, it wasn't good enough.

For the New Zealand team, it was a bittersweet result.  They can be proud of the fact that they haven't lost a match in the tournament, but as stated previously, a 0-0 draw was not sufficient to keep them in the tournament.

New Zealand needed to score at least one goal in this match to stay in contention, something that seems to not have occurred to them.  We did not see the same sort of game from them that they played against Slovakia, and that was very disappointing.

It turned what could have been an exciting contest into a yawn-fest.  Good for you, New Zealand, for going the distance!  But also shame on you for not playing with all your heart.

As for Paraguay, they didn't really need to win this match, but they at least made more of an attempt.

I feel that their inaccuracy is a serious problem for them and that they are now on borrowed time, but their chances depend (at least a while) on who their opponent will be.  Finishing at the top of Group F by a point, Paraguay will now face the runner-up from Group E.

New Zealand has so far defied expectations by remaining unbeaten in the World Cup, but considering the quality of the previous matches, it seems reasonable to assume that the third and final contest will test them to the limit.

Both previous results were a little on the lucky side.  In the opening match against Slovakia they were trailing for a long time before a miraculous play at the last second provided the equalizing goal.

Then against an under strength Italian team, they were awarded a goal that should technically have been ruled offside, putting the Italians under pressure.  Minutes later a false penalty was awarded to Italy so both teams got a goal that they did not deserve.

By rights, however, New Zealand should never have been able to stand up against Italy.  It's just that Italy, like France and England, is a team in disarray.  Their standard has slipped considerably.  It's not that New Zealand played well, but that Italy played poorly.  I expect them to continue to do so in tonight's match against Slovakia.

So now, New Zealand face Paraguay.  It will be a very difficult task to shut that team out of contention, and even more difficult to score against them.  The only factor working in New Zealand's favor is that Paraguay tend to take slightly panic-stricken shots and suffer from a lack of accuracy as a consequence.

Stranger things have been seen at the 2010 FIFA World Cup thus far, so I am not saying it is impossible for New Zealand to win this—just extremely, agonizingly difficult.

To stay in contention, New Zealand must at least draw here and they must score at least one goal.  Realistically, even if they can do that, they'll still be going home anyway.  So the pressure is on New Zealand to win here, and I honestly don't think they are good enough to do that.  Paraguay are in a much more comfortable position and they can just enjoy this game and pick New Zealand apart at their leisure.

Most likely result:  Paraguay by one.  Two if they are lucky.

Yesterday Italy failed to "hold serve" against Paraguay, a team running on the inspiration of their best player, Salvador Cabanas, who was shot in the head in January.

The tie brought Italy, the seemingly easy favorite to win Group F, back to the pack.

Slovakia then had a chance to take Group F by the horns in their first World Cup game ever.  They faced what appeared to be the definite underdog of the group, New Zealand.

After coming mere moments from taking the sole lead of first place in the group, the unthinkable happened.  New Zealand knotted the score in the third minute of stoppage time. 

So the June 20th match between Slovakia and Paraguay, which likely would have decided second place in the group, now plays a much larger role.

Assuming New Zealand can't continue the magic against a far superior opponent in Italy, the Slovakia-Paraguay game will decide whether or not Italy runs away with the group. 

Paraguay should care less if the Italians run away with the lead.  They are playing to move on, and would only need a tie against Slovakia to give themselves the upper hand.  They get the All Whites from New Zealand in the final game of the group on the 24th.

Slovakia just lost their chance at a sure three points in the group.  If they tie again against Paraguay, they would need to have a multiple goal victory against the Italians to give themselves a shot at advancing.

With this in mind, we are sure to see Paraguay play with a stacked back half, as the Slovakian attack will be putting on constant pressure to score goals.

This matchup, with no disrespect to New Zealand, should decide the Italians' running mate into the knockout round.

I know I'll be watching and so should the world.

The 2010 World Cup may have lost another star tonight.

Gianluigi Buffon, the star goalkeeper for Italy, failed to take the pitch for the second half against Paraguay.

Buffon is widely regarded as the finest goalkeeper in the world, and he joins Michael Ballack, Didier Drogba, and Arjen Robben on the list of superstars whose injuries could deeply affect the 2010 World Cup.

Buffon was reported to have suffered a hamstring injury, and his status for the rest of the tournament is currently unknown.

If Italy plays like it did in the second half of its opening match with Paraguay, the loss of Buffon may not hurt them too terribly.

Italy dominated a majority of the second half after being down a goal at halftime.

Italian midfielder Daniele De Rossi scored off a corner kick when Justo Villar misfired on punching the ball out of the box in the 63rd minute.

Paraguay never challenged Federico Marchetti, the backup goaltender for Italy, and they settled for a draw after leading for most of the game.

Paraguay took the lead in the 39th minute when defender Antolin Alcaraz scored on a header.

Paraguay nearly pulled off a monumental upset of the defending champions. 

The 31st ranked team in the world nearly took down the 5th ranked Italian squad, who will have to regroup quickly if they desire to claim another World Cup title.

By giving up a goal in Monday night's game, Italy has already allowed half of the number of goals scored against them through the entire 2006 tournament.

Although Italy should not have too much trouble with the rest of their group opponents, they will need Buffon to return healthy if they want to contend after pool play.

Italy clawed their way to a point against underdogs Paraguay, but the world champions’ reign looked uncertain in the rain of Cape Town.

The South Americans, ranked 31 in the world, were the stronger side for an hour. After 39 minutes Aureliano Torres swung in a free-kick and Antolin Alacaraz rose above Fabio Cannavaro and Daniele de Rossi to head the ball home beautifully.

With an upset on the cards, Italy (ranked fifth in the world) looked to have no way back until Paraguan goalkeeper Justo Villar made an error just as bad as England's Robert Green’s.

He came out to punch Simone Pepe’s 63^rd minute corner away. The problem was that he mistimed his jump, missed completely, and allowed Daniele De Rossi to prod home the equaliser. For the rest of the game, Italy piled on the pressure, but were unable to produce the first come-from-behind victory of this World Cup.

In Bloemfontein, Japan beat Cameroon 1-0 in Group E with CSKA Moscow’s Keisuke Honda engineering the only goal after 39 minutes.

Cameroon, Africa’s highest-ranked side here at 19, had never lost a World Cup opener and reached the quarter-finals in 1990—the continent’s best-ever performance.

French coach Paul Le Guen, the former Rangers boss, inexplicably left Arsenal’s Alex Song on the bench and appeared to be playing the great Barcelona and Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto’o as a right midfielder.

Cameroon were lacklustre throughout, though in the last minute, Stephane M'Bia hit a post. After the match, Le Guen said, "I’m upset that we have lost. Our attitude was wrong. We were tense and nervous, especially in the first half. We did not show what we are capable of. We were not at our level and kept losing possession.”

Should have started with Song then, surely? Japan boss Takeshe Okad, who saw his side lose all five of their World Cup warm-up games, said, “I don’t think it was a great success—what’s important is the next game.”

That’s against Holland in Durban on June 19. The Dutch remain favourites to win Group C after a comfortable 2-0 win over Denmark. They didn’t sparkle at Soccer City in the opening game on day four, but an own goal by Danish defender Daniel Agger and a tap-in from Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt proved too much for the not-so-great Danes.

Dutch boss Bert van Marwijk was going orange in the face at time and growled: "I have said 100,000 times that sometimes we are arrogant and that might backfire on us, and I have told my players from day one and we must not fall into that trap."

Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba is awaiting permission from FIFA to play with a cast on his broken arm before their opening clash against Portugal in Port Elizabeth tomorrow.

Neal Collins (nealcol on Twitter) is in South Africa to promote his first novel, A GAME APART, the book you must read before the World Cup. For more see www.nealcollins.co.uk . For his campaign to ban the bagpipes rather than the vuvuzela, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1hrMRk5FnY

The Azzurri are in the house.

The Champions have one of the oldest squads in the World Cup, as they return most of their 2006 winning team. Buffon, Cannavaro, Gattuso, Zambrotta, Di Rossi, and more. Italian football has a culture of sticking with old and experienced players over younger talent, and they've done so here.

I don't have a problem with a veteran squad. I think the World Cup is a tournament where experience is a very important factor. Team selection is an art unto itself. The blend of young and old. We shall see if coach Marcello Lippi's blend produces the desired winning effect over the next month.

Italy are the favorites to advance from this group. This is a relatively weak group with Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand. Paraguay is Italy's strongest opponent in this group, and a test for the Italians from the outset.

Paraguay had an excellent qualifying campaign. They finished in the top three from South America, from which five teams qualified for the World Cup: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay.

I think this could be an interesting game. While Paraguay are not on the level of Brazil and Argentina, they are strong enough to cause problems for the elite European teams.

The bigger question is: can Italy contend for the World Cup and retain their title? There is a sense that Italy's veteran players are in the declining years of their careers. The great thing about Italy is their experience. They know what it takes to go all the way.

Italy are one of the teams that have a great tradition and footballing philosophy. They don't have to figure out who they are. They have a system that is built on a tight defense and an intelligent probing tactical build-up. When they attack, they are precise and deadly. Italy always play at a high technical level. That means that Italian players are brought up to play with sound technique and strong tactical sense—very much like Germany. I believe that is the foundation of a World Cup winning culture and both Italy and Germany have won multiple World Cups.

Both teams excel at dictating the pace and style of the game and are calculated and precise. The South American style is similar as well. I think this will be a tactical chess match with a low score and a win for Italy to open the defense of their title.

The build up to the squad's June 14th's opener against Italy has not gone smoothly thus far. A defeat in Dublin was followed up by a draw against Cote d'Ivoire. Today's match against Greece represents Paraguay's final chance of a warm-up win.

A rugged defense and strict organization have been associated with Paraguayan football for generations. Much of the same should be expected in 2010, so for the fourth straight tournament neutral fans will be uninspired.

World Cup History 

New Zealand    June 24th—Polokwane

The group will give Paraguayans hope of qualification to the second round for a fourth time. Slovakia is making its first appearance and New Zealand is a small footballing nation making only its second World Cup appearance. Paraguayans will be expecting their team to win its games against those two teams.

Italy will surely top the group, no matter what kind of it is currently in, but second place is up for grabs. Paraguay will certainly feel it is capable of taking it.

Key Players   

A second round meeting will probably be against Holland, which would then be followed by a match against Spain. Even winning that the first of those would be a miracle for the Paraguay squad.

WORST CASE SCENARIO...

Being knocked out at the group stage is equally as likely for Paraguay as going through to the second round, as Slovakia has a strong first 11. However, losing to New Zealand would be the ultimate embarrassment.

PREDICTION

The game against Slovakia will be a battle for second place. Without Cabanas and therefore any midfield unpredictability, a third place finish may ultimately be the end result for Paraguay.