World Cup Group F preview: Slovakia v Paraguay
This is the first time in history these nations will play each other, and both will be rueing their failure to collect all three points from their opening encounters.
Slovakia led New Zealand 1-0, but failed to put the game to bed, conceding a last-minute goal, while Paraguay also let a 1-0 lead slip from a goalkeeping error to give Italy a point.
New Zealand’s goal came courtesy of defender Winston Reid’s header, and the dramatic equaliser gave the Kiwis their first World Cup point. Slovakia played good football and deserved their lead, with captain Marek Hamšik and the manager’s son Vladimir Weiss at the heart of the majority of their attacks. However, they failed to seal all three points and let New Zealand off the hook. Weiss Jnr has tried to take the positives out of the draw. “We’re obviously gutted. Winning would have been the perfect start, but conceding a goal in the last minute has changed everything. But these things happen in football.”
On their World Cup debut, Slovakia should have kicked it off with a win, and striker Erik Jendrisek was left frustrated. “We’re really annoyed that we conceded that goal in the last minute because we had the game in our grasp. They kept playing long balls over the top and it finally paid off. We have to take a close look at what went wrong but it’s going to be a complex exercise."
For Paraguay, they took the lead against defending champions Italy, but conceded a calamitous goal when goalkeeper Justo Villar completely missed the ball from a corner, allowing Daniele de Rossi to equalise. Paraguay will feel the Italians were lucky to get a draw, as up until the equaliser they were barely troubled as Italy struggled to mount any attacks together.
With all the teams level in the group, there is all to play for, and Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz, who came on as a substitute against Italy, feels his country can advance to the last 16. “We obviously want to make it into the next phase from the first stage. We want to go at least to the quarter-finals because in Paraguayan history it's never been done. But you never know."
Paraguay manager Gerardo Martino was pleased with the team’s performance, despite conceding from a keeper error. “We played this game equally against the current world champions. To play against a rival with such skills is a very good sign for us. It gives us a lot of confidence going ahead in this tournament. There are some teams that allow you to make mistakes but with Italy you know that one mistake could be very costly. We attach great importance to what we have done.”
Martino admits there is some work to be done ahead of this match. “We weren't terribly accurate when we played the ball. Italy didn't make it easy for us. But we knew Italy was going to be like that. I think we also made life difficult for them. Our next matches will be completely different. We need to improve on our possession and how we move the ball."
A draw is not the ideal outcome for Slovakia and Paraguay if they are to stand a chance of qualifying, but with Italy not playing to their best and New Zealand looking like the weakest team in the group, one of these nations will want to seize the initiative and take all three points.
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