2010 World Cup: Paraguay v Spain full time report
Paraguay 0 Spain 1
A late strike from David Villa sent Spain through to their first ever World Cup semi-final after an incident packed second half against Paraguay.
The clinical striker netted his fifth goal of this summer's finals on the 82nd minute to condemn the valiant South Americans to a quarter-final exit in an enthralling match at Ellis Park, which featured two missed penalties.
It was a relatively uneventful first half in Johannesburg, with chances few and far between for both teams.
Vicente Del Bosque's side passed and moved the ball around neatly as expected and enjoyed the lion's share of possession; but Paraguay set their stall out well and looked intent on thwarting their talented opponents.
Xavi hit a superb 30-yard volley on the half-hour mark that whistled over Justo Villa's crossbar – and that was about as close as Spain came to breaching their South American counterparts during the first 45 minutes.
There was a moment of controversy towards the end of the half as Nelson Valdez stuck by the ball in the back of the net. Although he wasn't offside, Oscar Cardozo was, and the assistant referee on the far side raised his flag.
Spain striker Fernando Torres still looked a shadow of his normal self and was substituted 10 minutes after half time for Cesc Fabregas.
Just minutes later, Paraguay were awarded a penalty after Gerard Pique was penalised for a foul on Cardozo. The Spain defender was booked for grabbing hold of the forward's arm. Cardozo dusted himself down and took the spot-kick himself, only to hit his penalty straight at Spain captain Casillas.
In a frantic couple of minutes at Ellis Park, Spain then broke at the other end, Villa ran through on goal and was adjudged to have been fouled by Antolin Alcaraz.
Referee, Carlos Batres, pointed to the spot - although replays suggested that Villa had made the most of the challenge - and Xabi Alonso was assigned the task of giving Spain the lead.
Alonso duly tucked the penalty away, but Batres blew his whistle again after spotting encroachment from several of Spain's players.
Again, the Spain central midfielder stepped up to the plate; however, this time his spot-kick was extraordinarily saved by Paraguay captain Villar.
The mayhem almost didn't end there, either. From the rebound, Fabregas was clearly fouled by Villar and another penalty seemed inevitable. Batres, though, waved play-on.
Somehow the scores were still level, and the match remained goalless. Both teams had managed to survive major scares thanks to their talismanic goalkeepers.
Andres Iniesta and Xavi both went close in the aftermath of those chaotic scenes as Spain kept up the pressure on Gerardo Martino's men.
In the end the match was decided by a moment of inspiration from Spain's world-class midfield Iniesta. His superb break through the Paraguayan midfield and lay-off to Barcelona teammate Pedro allowed the youngster to smash the left post, before the ball fell to Villa, who typically done the rest.
Villa placed the ball into the far post and the ball trickled agonisingly across the goal-line, hitting the opposite post before rolling over the line to give Spain a crucial 1-0 lead. It was the Spain striker's fifth goal of the tournament, and Barcelona's new £34 million signing continues his surge towards the Golden Boot.
With minutes remaining Roque Santa Cruz was presented with a great opportunity to send the match into extra-time, but Casillas got up well to thwart the Paraguay striker. And then, at the other end, Villa should have wrapped the match up for the Spaniards. However, he failed to hit the back of the net for a second time.
In the final seconds, Spain's ability to retain possession ensured their place in the semi-finals for the first time.
The European champions will now meet free-scoring Germany in Durban on Wednesday evening for a place in 2010's World Cup Final.
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