Chapter 133 Victory of Defense

The seventh 1/8 knockout match of the World Cup in South Africa is against Paraguay, a traditional strong team from South America, and Japan, the last one in Asia in the World Cup.

After 90 minutes of fierce fighting, the two sides became a draw in regular time. After that, the two sides still did not make any achievements in overtime and were not allowed to win or lose through a penalty shootout.

The first penalty shootout of this World Cup began, and the more experienced Paraguayans finally laughed to the end and reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time in history.

After the game, Paraguay's Argentine head coach Martino could no longer suppress his emotions and couldn't help bursting into tears.

In this game, because the strength of the two teams is almost the same, after the start of the game, both sides dare not rush to attack. The confrontation mainly focused on the midfield. The two teams tried to control the ball, and there were not many threatening balls on the court.

Except that the Japanese team hit the opponent's crossbar once in the first half, while Paraguay had a certain threat of several shots, the situation on the field has always been running smoothly in a state of balance of power, and the rhythm is slightly dull.

After the start of overtime, Paraguay once formed a siege and gained many opportunities, but in the face of Japan's stable defense, it failed to turn into a victory.

In the second half of the overtime, the Japanese team launched a desperate attack, and the Uruguayn defense was in turmoil, but with a strong defense, the two teams finally entered the penalty shootout.

In the penalty shootout, Paraguay played more steadily, while Japan's Tomoichi Kono conceded a penalty. In the end, Paraguay defeated Japan 5:3 and advanced to the quarterfinals.

When Cardoso made a final decision and scored a steady penalty, the Paraguayan players suddenly burst into cheers and rushed into the court one after another. Martino could no longer suppress his emotions. Not only was he bursting with tears, but even in an interview after the game, Martino said that he really couldn't believe that all this was true. What happened.

"We played very hard, but we still fought to the end. Fortunately, today's luck is on our side. Now, the whole world is paying attention to the Paraguay team. The promotion to the quarterfinals has completed our important step. I still can't believe that we have reached the quarterfinals! This is the first time in Paraguay's history to reach the quarter-finals. If Japan wins, we are very lucky in the penalty shootout. This is the difference between the two teams. When you see how the players on the field play and what kind of unity and positivity they show, you know that they will definitely leave a name in history. Maybe today's game is not a person. We want to see the game, but I don't think there is anything to blame for these two teams. I hope we can recover and continue to make history.

Paraguay's defensive ability is first-class among the World Cup teams. In the process of the continuous evolution of international football style, Paraguay's defense is becoming more and more important.

Since Martino took office, the national team has been required to pursue defensive tactics, which makes Paraguay look very different in South America, which generally advocates offensive football.

Today, under coach Martino's **, the defense line is as strong as reinforced concrete. In the whole World Cup qualifiers, Paraguay conceded only 16 goals, only one more than Brazil.

And with this defensive ability alone, Paraguay has surpassed Uruguay, and eight World Cups have also become the team that has participated in the third most World Cups in South America after Brazil and Argentina.

In the group stage of this World Cup, Paraguay drew with the defending champion Italy in the first game. Martino also believes that this game has established the confidence of the whole team.

In the second game, Paraguay formed three strikers and defeated Slovakia 2-0, which also made people see the attack power of the South American strong team.

In the last round, Paraguay drew with New Zealand and remained unbeaten in the group stage, losing only one goal.

In the 1/8 final, Paraguay's defense line is still indestructible. Although the Japanese team did its best in the second half of the overtime, neither the sports game nor the set-piece ball could break through the gate of Paraguay.

The Netherlands is called conservative if it plays more steadily, Brazil is called utilitarian if it is more efficient, and Chile is called barbaric if it is more fierce. There are so many poisonous tongues in the world, but if it is ugly, it is not their turn.

Have you seen the Paraguay team?

Paraguay's game can even make its fans fall asleep, can also make the opposing fans fall asleep, and more importantly, they can also make the players who are playing fall into a dream.

Paraguayans have simply practiced into a reality with chest hair. A group of rough people hide in their own half-court and refuse their opponents to attack thousands of miles away. Of course, they also firmly isolate themselves from their opponents' goals. Surprisingly, they are actually neighbors of Argentina and Brazil.

Can you imagine that the World Cup slogan brushed by Paraguay on the bus is: Guallani Lions roaring in South Africa!

The lion pretends to be a turtle, and the antelope dares to be security guards.

What's the use of the

slogan?

In fact, Paraguay's bus is not used to swear a decision. They must think that if possible, they will really park the bus at the door of their own ball.

Then the opponent will never score, but Paraguay seems to never want to score. They are more like passengers sitting on the bus. From the first minute of the game to the last minute of the game, they all put their hands together to pray for a penalty. This time they won.

A team with the responsibility of dragging the game into a penalty shootout has appeared in history. It was Argentina in 1990, but that Argentina had a pass and a shot from Maradona and Canigia, and everyone saw this "second in history". In the second half of overtime, Valdes directly returned the ball back. Passed to the goalkeeper.

The only thing that supports this team is the bold woman who stuffed her mobile phone into her corset. To be honest, the brothers in sheets are really sorry for her boldness.

But Martino said: "Italian defense is a good example for us and our goal."

Interestingly, the "Master" Italian team has been out after the group stage, and Paraguay's youth is better than blue, and continues to write wonderfully in the World Cup.

Defensively, Paraguay can be said to have reached its peak, but in terms of attack, it is difficult to be satisfied with the performance of this Paraguay team in the World Cup in South Africa.

At present, the Paraguay front line has four strikers: Santa Cruz, Barrios, Valdes and Cardoso. In last season's league, Cardoso scored 26 goals and won the Portuguese Super Golden Boot, Barrios scored 19 goals in the Bundesliga, and the other two veteran players Santa Cruz and Valdes jointly contributed 8 goals in the World Cup qualifiers, accounting for one-third of Paraguay's total goals.

I believe that every team will be afraid of three points in such a luxurious frontline combination, but after the four games of this World Cup, the transcripts handed over by these four strikers are 10 goals.

Although Paraguayans were lucky enough to reach the quarterfinals and create their best results in the World Cup, if they want to go further, Paraguay's strikers must perform, which is also a problem that coach Martino urgently needs to solve now.

Paraguay will continue their journey in the World Cup in South Africa, while Japan, the only one of Asian football, can only say goodbye after the game.

In this game, the strength of the Japanese team can be said to be equal to Paraguay, but the tactics of Japanese coach Takeshi Okada are too conservative. He believes that goalkeeper Nagai Kawashima can become a hero in the penalty shootout. Such a bet is too big.

In a competition between 11 people and 11 people, if you only put the hope of winning on one person, it will be a little desperate and unreliable. The Japanese are the victims of this kind of unreliable gambling.

Takeshi Okada firmly let the Japanese team fight defensively in the World Cup, and the Japanese did show excellent overall defensive ability.

It is true that this tactic is pragmatic against those traditional heroes, but in this game, the Japanese opponent Paraguay is not much stronger than the Japanese team. If Takeshi Okada can make some adjustments to the tactics and slightly strengthen the control of the midfield, perhaps the Japanese team will have a better chance.

Japan finally fell into the eighth final and failed to take another step forward. It is indeed a pity for Asian football, but from their performance in this World Cup, they have made considerable progress both technical and tactically and psychologically, and can already break up with the first-class strong teams in Europe and the United States. Wrist.

However, he stopped in the top 16 and failed to go further and make history. After the game, Takeshi Okada couldn't hide his disappointment. He originally wanted to go back to the locker room immediately, but the staff at the scene stopped him and politely accepted an official TV interview.

After that, he appeared at the press conference: "We don't regret that the players performed perfectly in this game. They are very good. They have won honors for Japan and even the whole of Asia. I am proud of them, but it is my responsibility not to win."

At the pre-match press conference, Takeshi Okada said that he would do his best to win the game, but they still regretted losing in the end. As for the reason for the loss, Takeshi Okada said that it was difficult to explain clearly: "This is football. We have a chance, but I didn't prepare better. As a coach, I should prepare more carefully and pay more attention to questions. Question, now that our World Cup is over, I feel as sad as my players.

However, although he lost the game, Takeshi Okada can still leave South Africa with his head up. Since taking office, he has been questioned by the media. Even before he came to the World Cup, he has been questioned and criticized, but he has proved himself with only one World Cup.

The Paraguay team was able to move forward with a strong and, of course, ugly defense, but what's next?

Obviously, neither Spain nor Portugal are easy to deal with!