FIFA World Cup 2010 – Paraguay's chances to qualify for the semi finals as they take on Spain
Paraguay is a surprise entree in the quarter finals. They were rather unknown and found themselves with Champions Italy, Slovakia and New Zealand. The surprised everyone when they topped the group with five points, along with Slovakia. Italy were eliminated in the first round, which was huge shock for all.
Paraguay now takes on European Champions Spain, who are showing great form and composure after a shaky start to their World Cup campaign. Paraguay may be the underdogs in this bout, but stand a solid chance to pull an upset. The reasons to why they might be able to do that are:
World Cup History: Paraguay has appeared in seven world cups so far, and this is first time that Paraguay has reached the quarter final stage. They were even part of the first ever World Cup in 1930, but were defeated by the USA in the first round. Paraguay then failed to qualify for six consecutive World Cups from 1962. They finally qualified for 1986 World Cup, and reached the round of 16 for the first time. From 1998, they have not failed to qualify; they made history when they defeated Japan in a dramatic penalty shootout to secure a place into the quarter finals.
Olympic Success: Paraguay rocked the world when they reached the 2004 Olympic finals. Their youngster had replaced the so called “Golden Generation” of player, and impressed everyone. They were pitted against their South American rivals Argentina, and gave the two time World Champions a tough contest. A single goal from Carlos Tevez proved to be the deciding factor between the two. Paraguay were therefore the runner ups and won the silver medals.
Coach: Paraguay employed Gerardo Martino, who is an Argentinean. He took over the reigns in 2007. He is responsible of introducing a number of players who had a Paraguayan heritage, but were born elsewhere. These notably included players born in Argentina. Lucas Barrios, Jonathan Santana and Nestor Ortigoza were born in Argentina but were convinced by Martino to join the Paraguayan side owing to their Paraguayan heritage.
Salvador Cababnas: Cababnas story is a sad one. He scored six goals for his side in the qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Paraguay qualified with 2 games to spare and was all set to be included in the squad. He was however shot in head in a club. Although he somehow survived the clash, the bullet remains in his head as doctors found it too risky to remove it. He showed remarkable recovery but may never play football owing to the bullet remaining in his head.
Brazil Upset: Paraguay have something to boast about, should they clash with Brazil in the final. In the world cup qualifiers, Paraguay defeated the mighty Brazil 2-0 with goals from Cababnas and Santa Cruz. The victory was huge for Paraguay, as defeating Brazil is any football team’s biggest delight.
Strengths: Paraguay’s success so far in the World Cup is perhaps due to its effective defence. They employ a mean defence, which doesn’t let much past them. Paraguay have just conceded a single goal, owing to their strong defence. They had to rely on a penalty shootout to defeat Japan however, as neither could score. They would want to repeat that feat if they are to stop an all-star Spanish side.
Penalty: Both Spain and Paraguay boast a strong defence, and may end up in a penalty shoot out to decide the bout. Paraguay have the edge in this one, having already experienced the pressure against Japan. They didn’t break and kept their calm. They scored 5 from 5 against Japan, and seem to be strong in this department. Spain on the other have a bad record of penalties. They have had three penalties shootouts so far in the World Cup, but have managed to win only once.
Paraguay would look to rely heavily on the back four and exploit Spain on counter attack. Being the underdogs in this tournament, they have nothing to loose. They have every chance to make history, as they enjoy a strong squad which would look to give Spain a tough time in this quarter finals clash.
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