... being missed.
For the better part of the game, Paraguay took a page out of Inter and Chelsea under Jose Mourinho and frustrated their more illustrious opponents.
Coach Gerardo Martino (has a ring to it doesn't it ?) got his tactics right. He deployed his back line deep, set midfielder Cristian Riveros to track back and shadow Xabio Alonso and kept Victor Caceres in reserve to rush across and cramp Xavi whenever he got the ball.
It worked and the game descended into a slow game of attrition. With Antolin Alcaraz breathing down David Villa's neck, Spain had no space, rhythm or passing. It looked like penalties. I cursed. Loudly.
Then, in the course of a minute, two crazy penalties were given at either end. And both were missed. Gerard Pique forgot he was no longer in the Nou Camp and gave away a spot kick to form man Oscar Cardozo after hauling him down off a corner. Amazingly Cardozo, scorer of the winning penalty versus Japan in the round of 16 match, missed.
Then, Alcaraz threw an arm across Villa and the referee gave a very soft penalty at the other end. Even more amazingly, the referee ruled it out after Xabi Alonso converted. Apparently Sergio Busquets had infringed. So Xabi retook it but goalie Justo Villar guessed correctly and saved it. In the ensuring melee, he followed it up by saving the rebound as well, getting to the ball before Cesc Fabregas could tuck it in.
Now, speaking of Fabregas, Spain were a different team as soon as he came on. With Fernando Torres having his fifth straight game of mediocre anonymity, Fab's introduction was like a breath of fresh air that the game needed. He ran at Paraguay and showed a muscular ability to retain and release the ball under pressure.
No wonder that the goal, when it arrived, was engineered by a passing move that involved him, Andres Iniesta, Villa and both Paraguayan posts. Villa, applying the finishing touch to a razor sharp piece of passing with pace that sealed the game with an emphatic if slightly lucky ending.
Paraguay should have threatened more but other than their game against Slovakia, seemed more content to defend.
Spain march on, with another close win, thanks to David Villa.
Spain 1 - 0 Paraguay
No comments:
Post a Comment