2010 World Cup: Slovakia v Paraguay full time report
Slovakia 0 Paraguay 2
A goal either side of half time from Enrique Vera and Cristian Riveros sealed Paraguay their first three points of the 2010 World Cup finals, and left Slovakia on the brink of elimination.
Vera's classy finish in the 26th minute put Paraguay firmly on their way before Riveros' emphatic strike five minutes before the end sent the South Americans to the top of Group F.
After dominating the opening exchanges, Paraguay eventually found the breakthrough midway through the first half courtesy of a moment of brilliance from Vera. The defensive midfielder timed his run to perfection, latched on to a perfectly weighted pass from Lucas Barrios and tucked the ball away beautifully with the outside of his right foot.
It was nothing less than Gerardo Martino's side deserved. Slovakia were slow out the blocks and their lack of adventure ensured Paraguay took an early advantage.
Up until Vera's goal, Paraguay's attackers had been limited to speculative pop shots. But eventually their persistence paid off, and the lively Vera stole into the box to curve the ball expertly past Jan Mucha.
With the prospect of having to face Italy in their final group match looming large, Slovakia were forced to try and rescue something from this match after the break. It was undoubtedly a more spirited second half performance from Vladimir Weiss' side; but the Paraguayans were rarely troubled by Slovakia's creative players.
Both Vladimir Weiss - the son of the coach – and Marek Hamsik struggled to get into the game, which made the afternoon a whole lot easier for the South Americans.
It was Paraguay who then almost doubled their advantage to put the match out of reach. Following good work on the left wing from Roque Santa Cruz, Vera was presented with a superb opportunity to grab his second of the match. Fortunately for Slovakia, his diving header rolled narrowly wide of Justo Villar's left post.
However, a second goal did eventually arrive late on in the half, and it was no surprise to see it go to Paraguay. A whipped in free-kick was met by Paulo Da Silva, and although his header was blocked, he still managed to tee up Riveros, who smashed the ball past Mucha from the edge of the box.
Barring a late chance for Robert Vittek, Slovakia showed little to suggest they possess the quality to reach the last 16.
Weiss and his men are now left staring down the barrel, almost certainly facing an early exit from the World Cup; while Paraguay now look odds on to advance from the group stages.
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