Paraguay v Spain: match preview

Quarter finals

Paraguay v Spain
Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Kick-off: Fri July 2, 7.30pm BST
TV: BBC1, BBC1 HD

Spain are ready to make history. Almost unbelievably, they have never won a World Cup quarter-final before, only having reached the last four in 1950 when the tournament was decided on group results.

They start overwhelming favourites against a Paraguay team who’ve only scored three goals but have been tough to break down, having conceded just one.

Paraguay will be carried on “lots of heart and the lure of a unique opportunity,” says their coach Gerardo Martino.

Both teams are set to be unchanged, with Vicente Del Bosque likely to ignore the clamour for Fernando Llorente to replace Torres. Martino is desperate for his strikers to break their goalscoring duck here.

Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas has backed Spain team-mate Torres to play a key role against Paraguay.

Torres is without a goal at the finals and has so far failed to live up to expectations, earning criticism from home.

“He’s accustomed to all these situations because he’s been under pressure ever since he was a little boy,” Fabregas said. “He is very much at ease. He can showcase his talents in the quarter-final.”

Fabregas has made only two brief second-half appearances at the finals but will be ready if called against Paraguay. “Many of these players play in Europe, we know them,” he said. “It is a very competitive team. They are going to fight to the end.”



Teams

Spain (4-4-2): 1 Casillas; 15 Ramos, 3 Pique, 5 Puyol, 11 Capdevila; 6 Iniesta, 8 Xavi, 16 Busquets, 14 Alonso 9 Torres, 7 Villa
Subs: 4 Marchena, 10 Fabregas, 12 Valdes, 13 Mata, 17 Arbeloa, 18 Pedro, 19 Llorente, 20 Martinez, 21 Silva, 22 Navas, 23 Reina
Paraguay (4-3-3): 1 Villar; 4 Caniza, 21 Alcaraz, 14 Da Silva, 3 Morel; 13 Vera, 6 Bonet, 16 Riveros; 9 Santa Cruz, 18 Valdez, 19 Barrios
Subs: 2 Veron, 5 J Caceres, 7 Cardozo, 8 E Barreto, 10 Benitez, 11 Santana, 12 D Barreto, 15 V Caceres, 17 A Torres, 20 Ortigoza, 22 Bobadilla, 23 Gamarra

Key clash

Paraguay’s strikers have been firing blanks all tournament and, without a goal between them, both Nelson Valdez and Roque Santa Cruz need to improve dramatically to get the better of Barcelona’s twin pillars, Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique

Touchline duel

After their false start against Switzerland, Del Bosque’s calm demeanour has helped Spain’s bandwagon slide smoothly back on the rails. The Argentine Martino, though, has already become a national hero in Paraguay by leading them to the last eight for the first time.

Talking tactics

All the pre-match talk from the Paraguay camp has been about trying to stop Spain rather than attacking them. “Their way is about creating and ours is more about stopping them and then taking our chances," admits Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar of their planned negative approach. The South Americans will try to hound the fulcrum, Xavi. Easier said than done.

What they say

Nelson Valdez: "We mustn’t let Spain play. In midfield you can't allow them to move because we are talking about one of the favourites to win the Cup."

Del Bosque: “We shall not underestimate Paraguay and we’ll prepare for them with great respect. We can't take anything for granted.”

Previous Meetings

Played: 3 Paraguay 0 wins, Draws 2, Spain 1 win

1998: (St-Etienne, WC): Spain 0 Paraguay 0
2001: (Logrono, Friendly): Spain 0 Paraguay 0
2002: (Jeonju, WC): Spain 3 Paraguay 1

Fact: Spain are in the quarter-finals for the fourth time since 1986, reaching the last eight in alternate years. But they have failed to progress further.

Prediction: This time Spain are looking good; easy win.


(source: telegraph.co.uk)