Paraguay can be a mean threat to Spain

Vincente del Bosque the Spanish coach has a very firm belief that his team is ready to take on Paraguay today in the World Cup quarters. And if they want to take home the Cup, they can start by winning the quarter finals, which most people think is really easy for the team, especially with class players like Messi and Villa. Although Spain had four previous opportunities to get to the finals and all took place between the years 1934 to 2002.

The resolute Paraguay team is the only one standing in their way this time, and if the European Football team of the year 2007 have to move on to the semi finals then they will have to make sure they give it all they got. Coach Bosque however said, “We know we’re in good shape. It’s been more than 30 days together training as a team and I think these players want to make history.”

It was always the quarter finals where Spain was sent home, and in 2002 Spain lost to South Korea on penalties. That match was long remembered since it was disputed for the referee calls, and then Italy’s Roberto Baggio when on to lift the cup in a 2-1 victory in 1994

Paraguay has a lot of character just like any other South American team and has players who could put their opposition into a lot of pressure. They definitely know their game, their skill and most importantly their trade. You would have noticed that without or with the ball they show a style that is quiet similar to Chile. Andres Inesta the midfielder said, “We’d all like to play nicely, scoring five goals a game and sometimes that happens.” He also went on to say, “There are good moments and difficult moments but what’s important is that we’re in the quarterfinals.”

Paraguay has amazing defense strategies and this is what has bought them so far into the game. And after their perfect shootout against Japan in their previous match they are harboring the dream of lifting the cup.

Argentina and Uruguay Top in Group A and B WorldCup Soccer

While a lot of big-name nations from Europe have struggled, the finest from South America finest have already taken off at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  Uruguay and Argentina emerged on top of Groups A and B respectively after finishing their assignments and the continent’s other three representatives are at the moment ahead of their groups too, with Brazil, five-time world champions who already booked their place in the Round of 16 with a game to go.

Now it is Paraguay and Chile that is being eyed if they can complete a clean sweep in their last first-phase games. At this time, the CONMEBOL countries got ten wins and two draws of their 12 games. They have taking 32 of the 36 available points up at stake. This means that Paraguay of Group F and Chile of Group H need only a point to assure qualification to top their respective sections.

This is a turnaround if you think about what happened in Germany 2006, where no South American nation was able to make it to the semi-final stage. Jorge Valdivia the Chile schemer said that it is great that the South American teams are bouncing back. Coach Gerardo Martino of Paraguay is not even surprised and said that all the five teams were in good shape at the start of the tournament. All of them have high hopes and the majority has shown good displays in the first round. With this said, it is quite clear that Brazil and Argentina are two different case to contend with. And it is very clear that South American teams have risen from the group.

On Group A, Uruguay won without giving up a goal and Argentina did not give up a point in Group B. While Paraguay held a draw with world champions Italy in their first and made an impressive 2-0 victory against Slovakia in their second, to top Group F. Brazil had back to back wins against Korea DPR and Côte d’Ivoire in Group G, and Chile collected six points to their credit to become the first team to over run Switzerland in 559 minutes in the FIFA World Cup tournament.

Enzo Francescoli the Uruguayan legend said, the punishing and intensely aggressive nature of South American Zone matches is one factor behind this quick start. For the teams of South America it is a real tough qualifying phase. They have a different football standard with different marking styles and tactical movements.

Poll: Who Will Advance From Group F in World Cup 2010

Italy holds the defending world champion and they also have four World Cup titles. Paraguay played strong due to their struggle in 2009. Slovakia has a very average showing last year and New Zealand is hungry for the title.

Italy has 16 appearances in the World Cup and has previous played in South Africa. They played in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. The team also relies on its defense and that is a good start. In 2009 they had nine wins, two losses and four draws.

Paraguay fought hard to qualify in the World Cup 2010. They had to get a good start since they struggled a lot in 2009. They had a sound defense since they never lost more than two goals. But they also never scored more than two goals in a game.

This is Slovakia’s first time to making it to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals. As Czechoslovakia they got to the finals eight times. They are a team of hard workers and have improved every time they qualified in the World Cup.

New Zealand after 28 years will be playing in South Africa in 2010. They are even crowned Oceania champions. They are great with rugby and the highest rank in the world is 47the by their national football team. Given the data, you can have an estimate of Who Will Advance from Group F in World Cup 2010.

South American World cup qualifiers Fixtures

Fixtures

Date/Time Venue Home Team Vs Away Team

06/09/08 16:00 Buenos Aires Argentina vs Paraguay

06/09/08 16:10 Quito Ecuador vs Bolivia

06/09/08 18:20 Bogota Colombia vs Uruguay

06/09/08 20:30 Lima Peru vs Venezuela

07/09/08 20:00 Santiago De Chile Chile vs Brazil

09/09/08 20:00 Asuncion Paraguay vs Venezuela

10/09/08 17:40 Montevideo Uruguay vs Ecuador

10/09/08 18:40 Santiago De Chile Chile vs Colombia

10/09/08 21:30 Lima Peru vs Argentina

10/09/08 21:50 Rio De Janeiro Brazil vs Bolivia

11/10/08 TBA Bolivia vs Peru

11/10/08 20:10 Buenos Aires Argentina vs Uruguay

11/10/08 20:20 Bogota Colombia vs Paraguay

12/10/08 16:00 San Cristobal Venezuela vs Brazil

12/10/08 16:10 Quito Ecuador vs Chile

14/10/08 TBA Bolivia vs Uruguay

15/10/08 18:40 Asuncion Paraguay vs Peru

15/10/08 20:20 Puerto La Cruz Venezuela vs Ecuador

15/10/08 20:30 Santiago De Chile Chile vs Argentina

15/10/08 21:50 Rio De Janeiro Brazil vs Colombia