| Group D has indeed proved a "Group of Death" for favourites Spain who tonight failed miserably in their 0-0 draw against
Paraguay in St Etienne and are now precariously close to non-qualification for the second stage. Following this result Nigeria
now progress to the last 16 as group winners whilst Spain need to beat Bulgaria and hope that Paraguay fail to beat the
Africans. The Spaniards looked to gain an early initiative against a Paraguayan side who, as in their first match against Bulgaria,
were content to sit back and put plenty of men behind the ball. However, Spain were sadly lacking in confidence and despite
neat passing up to the final third, their problems lay in who would score the goals to win them the game. An early 'Mexican
wave' after just 15 minutes was a sign that the expectant crowd were growing restless, but apart from a succession of wasted
corners and shots from distance, Jose Luis Chilavert in the Paraguay goal was seldom troubled. The South Americans always
looked dangerous on the break with Miguel Benitez a constant thorn in the Spanish defence, but the best chance of the first half
fell to Raul right on the stroke of half-time. The little striker turned superbly in the box to fire in a low shot that Chilavert kept
out superbly and Celso Ayala then made a magnificent saving tackle to deny a certain goal for Pizzi. After the interval Spain
continued to press in search of that elusive vital goal and despite numerous goal attempts, notably from Martinez Luis Enrique,
the Paraguayan defence stubbornly held firm. Indeed in Benitez they possessed the player most likely to break the deadlock as
his selfish forward play almost paid dividends after 62 minutes when his curling left-footed shot was clawed clear by Andoni
Zubizarreta. Both coaches made their full quota of substitutions as Spain replaced strikers Pizzi and Raul with Morientes and
Kiko in attempt to win the game whilst Paraguay were content to shore up their defence further against the predictable Spanish
onslaught. Two late free-kicks for Spain in dangerous positions at least ensured a bit of drama in stoppage time, but in keeping
with the previous 90 minutes, the quality and end product was sadly lacking. |
