Paraguay Eager To Knock Out Favorites Spain
The Albirroja qualified third behind Brazil and Chile in the South American zone to reach the finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Now both Brazil and Chile have exited from the competition, but the Paraguayans are keen not to let such an agonizing fate hit them. Of course, they’ll be going into Saturday’s match as underdogs – not only because of their low pedigree in World Cup history, but also because of Spain’s gigantesque status as European reigning champions and 2010 FIFA World Cup favorites.
But all those things don’t bother Paraguay the least. Argentine-born striker Lucas Barrios revealed how intimidation had no space within his squad. In a press conference on Thursday, the Borussia Dortmund player declared:
“We respect Spain because they are a strong side. But that respect disappears as soon as we step on the field. That’s exactly what happened against World Cup champions Italy [against whom Paraguay drew 1-1]. But look, Italy are at home, and we are here.”
On paper, Paraguay have lost the battle. But football has shown at multiple occasions that games aren’t played on paper only – which offers the Albirroja with the right to be optimistic. Lucas Barrios concluded:
“Now, our aim is to continue moving forward. We will be up against a strong rival [Spain], but anything can happen in the quarter-finals.”
Surely, anything can happen. After playing 120 minutes of goalless football against Japan in the Round of 16, Paraguay found their way to reach the quarter-finals thanks to Komano’s missed spot-kick in the penalty shoot-outs. Now as statistics reveal that Paraguay have netted only 3 goals in the World Cup so far, anxiety among the team’s supporters has given birth to doubts ahead of the match against Spain who are known to be dominant in every area of the field. However, Coach Gerardo Martino thinks that things should be taken easily.
“People shouldn’t be too hard on our strikers. If they are not scoring, it’s perhaps because balls directed at them don’t arrive too fast.
“Hopefully, our next opponents will allow us to play differently, meaning that it won’t be down to us to dictate the game. Against Spain, we should have more space because the Spanish play to win.”
Spain Won’t Take Paraguay Lightly 
It’s incredible how a single David Villa goal (which shouldn’t have counted anyways as it was offside) was enough to put Spain into the quarter-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup at the expense of Portugal. The Spanish have vowed to keep their dream alive as Iker Casillas revealed it:
“We came to South Africa to do our very best. Football is not easy and we know it. Just look at what happened to us against the USA last summer, or more recently against Switzerland.
“For us, the Paraguay match is like a final. If we win, then we will begin to prepare for the semi-final. It will fantastic to advance. But we can’t get ahead of ourselves.
“We didn’t think we were a superior team against Portugal and we won’t do that against Paraguay either. We have learned from the Confederations Cup. We know that no opponent is easy. Experience teaches us not to trust any team.”
Whereas Paraguay’s Lucas Barrios revealed that respect will have no meaning against La Furia Roja on Saturday night, Spain’s Vicente Del Bosque indicate the opposite, stating:
“We must not underestimate Paraguay and we have to prepare ourselves to play against them with great respect. They have very good defenders, but they also have attackers. To win that match, we must be fully focused. It’s difficult to win, and we know that. We can’t take anything for granted. We must hugely respect our next opponents.”
Spanish fans will hope that the ‘respect factor’ won’t send La Furia Roja all the way back to the Iberian island before the semi-final fixtures.
