Spain vs Paraguay time for Fernando Torres and David Villa to shine : World Cup 2010 Quarter finals
The final quarterfinal match of the FIFA World Cup 2010 will be played between Spain and Paraguay. It’s not a perfect match by any stretch of the imagination, especially compared to the big matches between Germany-Argentina and Brazil- Netherlands; however, Paraguay has enough firepower in them to give the European champions a run for their money.
Spain were tipped to be one of the favourites of the World Cup, but their campaign start was less than ideal. A shock defeat at the hands of Switzerland in the first game made them come down from the high of entering the tournament as European champions. However, coach Del Bosque has plenty of quality at his disposal, and addressed the problem areas in the 2nd game against Honduras. There was the usual fluent one touch football on display, and Spain used the width of the ground to great effect. The 2 nil win was quite convincing, and made sure they stayed alive in the World Cup. However, the final game was not that easy, as Chile gave Spain a real fight. Spain held their nerve, however, and won the match 2-1 to make it to the Round of 16 of the World Cup. Their pre-quarterfinal match was built up to be a mouth-watering game as they came up against Portugal. Spain completely dominated the match and it was only fair that a dubious goal from Villa got them a 1-0 win.
Paraguay, though, have had a whole different route to the quarterfinals. They were not the first choice to make it to the next round, as Italy and Slovakia featured in their group. However, a resolute performance in the first game against Italy earned them a 1-1 draw; earning a point against the world champions gave them heart and they carried the momentum to the 2nd game, and hammered Slovakia 2-0. It all came down to the final game, where they managed a 0-0 draw against New Zealand, and it was only thanks to Slovakia beating Italy 3-1 that paved the way for them to make it to the Round of 16. In their pre-quarterfinal, they once again played a 0-0 draw but won the match on penalties against Japan.
David Villa has been the man in form for Spain with 4 goals and is the joint top scorer of the tournament, while his strike partner, Torres, has been off colour after coming back from an injury. Iniesta, after coming back, has made the midfield much stronger, and with Xavi and Alonso also in the centre of the field, they probably have the best midfield line-up.
Spanish coach Del Bosque has insisted that he will stick with Fernando Torres despite his less than impressive form in the World Cup. The starting 11 is expected to be pretty much the same, but midfielder Javier Martine is suffering from an ankle injury and is expected to miss out.
Paraguay may decide to bring back Victor Caceres, who missed the last match due to suspension; he may replace Nestor Ortigoza. Aureliano Torres may also find himself in the line-up after recovering from a minor calf strain.
Spain have had just one yellow card in the World Cup; Alonso is the man one booking away from suspension for Spain. Paraguay, on the other hand, have a whole list of players: Enrique Vera, Cristian Riveros and Roque Santa Cruz are all on a yellow card.
The two teams have had 3 previous meetings, two of which were in the World Cup; in 1998, it was a 0-0 draw at the group stages, and in 2002, Spain won 3-1. The 3rd meeting, a friendly, ended in a 0-0 draw.
Spain will definitely have the upper hand in the match, as they have an array of superstars at their disposal, while Paraguay will be looking to come up with another big upset in the World Cup.
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