Day 19
Portugal vs. Spain
Paraguay 0 – Japan 0 (Paraguay wins 5-3 on penalties)
Neither team had ever advanced beyond the Round of 16 before, so the game was predictably cagey to begin with, as no one wanted to make that first crucial mistake. The first good scoring chance came from Lucas Barrios in the 19th minute, but his shot from within the penalty area was stopped by Eiji Kawashima. Two minutes later, Daisuke Matsui had an even better chance at the other end, but his dipping right-footed strike struck the Paraguay crossbar. For the most part, though, the first half lacked both style and substance, and ended in a scoreless stalemate.
The second half, despite showing some signs of positivity, was similarly devoid of legitimate scoring opportunities. Paraguay, despite holding a lion’s share of ball possession, couldn’t penetrate the Japanese defence to seriously challenge Kawashima’s goal. So, off to extra time they went yet, again, aside from a sliding shot by Nelson Valdez in the 97th minute (saved by Kawashima), the two 15-minute extra periods expired without producing dangerous scoring chances. When the final whistle blew, the players collapsed, knowing the drama and tension of penalty kicks lay ahead.
After 120 goalless minutes, Paraguay slotted home their first three penalty kicks, while Japan scored their first two. But that first crucial mistake finally came when defender Yuichi Komano struck the crossbar with Japan’s third kick. From there, Paraguay simply needed to score their final two shots to advance, and they did, with striker Oscar Cardozo converting the clinching goal.
Spain 1 – Portugal 0
As one might have expected, both teams came flying out of the gate in this match. Fernando Torres nearly scored a mere 45 seconds in, but his curling shot was parried away by goalkeeper Eduardo, who also had to stop two shots from David Villa within the first seven minutes. His goalkeeping counterpart, Iker Casillas, was called into action in the 20th minute, first to make a fingertip save of Tiago’s long-range shot, and then to punch the rebound away from the oncoming Hugo Almeida. After that, the game settled down somewhat, as both teams clamped down defensively.
As the first half ended without a goal, it looked as though it was going to take a special piece of skill to break the deadlock. That moment almost came in the 61st minute, but substitute Fernando Llorente’s diving header was stopped by Eduardo. Two minutes later, though, the breakthrough finally arrived when some precise passing cracked the Portuguese defence and allowed David Villa through to Eduardo’s goal, which he promptly filled with the game ball.
It was the first goal Portugal conceded in the tournament, and the Spanish hungrily pressed for another one. Sergio Ramos made a quick turn in the area in the 70th minute, unleashing a shot that was just pressed wide by Eduardo’s fingers. Villa then looked for his second goal of the game in the 77th minute, but Eduardo deflected his long-range blast. Finally, Llorente nodded a cross just wide of the goal post in the 87th minute. Ultimately, Portugal performed admirably on the defensive end to keep the powerful Spaniards to a single goal but Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of the Portuguese attackers had no answer for Villa’s tally, which was enough to send Spain into the next stage.
Daniel Squizzato writes for Some Canadian Guys Writing About Soccer, which takes a passionate (and often irreverent) look at the Canadian soccer scene, major international tournaments and all sorts of odds and ends related to the beautiful game.
