La Furia Roja Unhealthy Reliance On "The Kid" Villa

Spain's second 1-0 victory allowed them to squeeze past Paraguay in the World Cup quarterfinal. Once again, El Guaje pulled La Furia Roja through the finishing line. Also for the second match running, Spain dominated possession (60%) over the opposition. They must be excited at the prospect of an open semifinal encounter against the counter-attacking Germans. Well, Del Bosque will have to think otherwise as the Germans also defend in numbers, just ask England and Argentina.

Like in the Portugal match, the Barcelona connection again proved effective as Iniesta-Pedro-Villa put paid to La Albirroja's dream of being first time semifinalist. Paraguay's exit is due to them not scoring enough goals. The loss of Salvador Cabanas was a total blow to Gerardo Martino and that firepower could not complement the excellent defensive solidity.

Due to the lack of goals from Santa Cruz and Barrios, Martino took a gamble and rang in the new striking cavalry - Oscar Cardozo, Nelson Valdez and Jonathan Santana. The trio worked well with each other, having Paraguay's best spell in the first half, with a Valdez goal disallowed.

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El Guaje Steps Up To Lead Spain's Attack

The new Barcelona triumvirate took charge during the Spain-Portugal match. Xavi-Iniesta-Villa put to rest Portugal's interest in the World Cup earlier this week. With Fernando Torres misfiring, Villa is carrying the bulk of the Spanish attack on his shoulders and has not shirked that responsibility.

Against Portugal, Spain put on their most impressive performance. Their dominance was underlined by an unthinkable 61% possession. Portugal for all their talent, hardly did themselves any justice but credit should be give to Spain for their excellence in keeping Ronaldo starved of the ball. That clearly frustrated the Portuguese playboy, his spit and curt response to a journalist reflected that dissatisfaction.

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A Tale Of Inches As La Albirroja Moves Into Last 8

Paraguay succeeded in reaching an historic first quarterfinal berth by outlasting Japan, both physically and mentally, in a penalty shoot-out. La Albirroja converted all five of their penalties with minimum fuss. Japan suffered a heartbreaker when Yuichi Komano hit the crossbar. With this success, Gerardo Martino joins fellow Argentinian, Diego Maradona into the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Paraguay had the more talent and it started out in that fashion. Lucas Barrios was the brightest player on the pitch during the opening exchanges. The match came alive when Barrios fashioned a one-on-one opportunity which he failed to convert in the 22nd minute. There was to be action at both ends as Daisuke Matsui crashed a shot onto the crossbar. Justo Villar was completely beaten by Matsui's thunderbolt but Paraguay was saved by the inches of the crossbar.

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Group F Decided! The Repre And La Albirroja Advance

Marcelo Lippi's Italy struggled in this summer's World Cup finals. They even finished bottom in Group F with the surprise package, New Zealand in third place. The lack of creativity and quality became a real problem for the Azzurris. Paraguay looked set to progress but first they needed to fend off the Kiwis who, if they win, will advance to the knockout phase. Slovakia with one point after two matches, looked down and out, though still in with a distant chance.

Italy took on Slovakia in the final game with either side needing a win to try and make it to the last 16. Slovakia signalled their intent in the early stages of the game, with Marek Hamsik missing in front of goal. The Repre played the better football and it just goes to show how poor the Azzurris have been in this summer's football showcase. Italy was undone by their inability to beat New Zealand and had to face the dangerous Slovakia. Robert Vittek's two goals pushed him into the unlikely position of top goalscorer in the tournament together with David Villa and Gonzalo Higuain.

Only when the Italians were three goals down, did they manage to put to show any fight. The presence of midfield playmaker, Andrea Pirlo must have had something to do with that. The loss of Buffon quite clearly was a blow to the defence, as Marchetti is not as commanding as the Italian superstar. So a remarkable turnaround and a shocking defeat to Hamsik's side. Slovakia, unbelievably, took second spot in Group F.

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Los Guaranies Stroll To Historic Win

Paraguay had never won a previous second group match in all their World Cup appearances but Gerrardo Martino's side are a different proposition this time round. The team qualified for South Africa, beating Argentina, Chile, Brazil in the process, to finish third with 33 points. It's a strong team with Dortmund duo, Valdez and Barrios, Sunderland-bound Cristian Riveros and Roque Santa Cruz.

Slovakia offered little in terms of attacking threat and it was all up to Los Guaranies to claim victory over the Repre side. Marek Hamsik was disappointing as captain of Slovakia. He was expected to lead the Repre as their most internationally known player but at 22, Hamsik seemed overawed by the occassion. We will have to wait four more years to watch a more mature and confident Hamsik as Slovakia's leader.

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Reigning World Champions Expertly Marshalled By La Albirroja

Paraguay's Roque Santa Cruz said that the current 2010 Paraguay squad is the best for years. The opening game performance against Italy fully backed up this claim. With this draw, La Albirroja has a decent chance of progress into the knockout phase.

This was a spirited, hard working and physical Paraguayan display. A setpiece headed goal in the first half stunned Italy.  Danielle De Rossi equalized and relieved the pressure on the Italians.

The criticism that the Italian media have had about the team being too old and aged holds water now. Italy were looking extremely tired and devoid of ideas. Marcelo Lippi's constant reluctance to include Francesco Totti is looking like a big mistake now. How Italy need a playmaker to provide a creative thrust. Andrea Pirlo will definitely find his way back to the Italian lineup soon enough.

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2010 World Cup Group F Head To Head

The defending champion, Italy is drawn in Group F with New Zealand, Paraguay and Slovakia. Marcelo Lippi is said to be struggling with his lineup and the general consensus is that as a powerhouse, Italy have regressed. Yet, history has taught us to write off Italy at our peril as they have the experience , mentality and tactical acumen to do well in competitions.

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