2002 FIFA World Cup (tm) Finals - Results & Fixtures - Slovenia vs Paraguay

12 Jun 2002


Slovenia	1 - 3	Paraguay
	(HT: 1 - 0)

Game Details
Venue Jeju World Cup Stadium	Attendance 30176
Referee Felipe Rizo Ramos (MEX) Assistant Referees Leif Lindberg (SWE) Visva Krishnan (SIN)

Game Events
#	Date	Player	Event	Period	Mins	H/A
1	12 Jun 2002	Carlos Humberto Paredes	Yellow Card	First Half	4	A
2	12 Jun 2002	Miran Pavlin	Yellow Card	First Half	15	H
3	12 Jun 2002	Carlos Humberto Paredes	2nd Yellow Card	First Half	22	A
4	12 Jun 2002	Miran Pavlin	Player Out	First Half	40	H
5	12 Jun 2002	Mladen Rudonja	Substitute In	First Half	40	H
6	12 Jun 2002	Milenko Acimovic	Goal	First Half	46	H
7	12 Jun 2002	Guido Alvarenga	Player Out	Second Half	8	A
8	12 Jun 2002	Jorge Campos	Substitute In	Second Half	8	A
9	12 Jun 2002	Jose Saturnino Cardozo	Player Out	Second Half	16	A
10	12 Jun 2002	Nelson Cuevas	Substitute In	Second Half	16	A
11	12 Jun 2002	Milenko Acimovic	Player Out	Second Half	17	H
12	12 Jun 2002	Nastja Ceh	Substitute In	Second Half	17	H
13	12 Jun 2002	Nelson Cuevas	Goal	Second Half	20	A
14	12 Jun 2002	Amir Karic	Yellow Card	Second Half	23	H
15	12 Jun 2002	Mladen Rudonja	Yellow Card	Second Half	24	H
16	12 Jun 2002	Jorge Campos	Goal	Second Half	28	A
17	12 Jun 2002	Milan Osterc	Player Out	Second Half	32	H
18	12 Jun 2002	Senad Tiganj	Substitute In	Second Half	32	H
19	12 Jun 2002	Zeljko Milinovic	Yellow Card	Second Half	34	H
20	12 Jun 2002	Nastja Ceh	Red Card	Second Half	36	H
21	12 Jun 2002	Nelson Cuevas	Goal	Second Half	39	A
22	12 Jun 2002	Nelson Cuevas	Player Out	Second Half	47	A
23	12 Jun 2002	Juan Carlos Franco	Substitute In	Second Half	47	A

Match report

Paraguay staged an extraordinary comeback to beat Slovenia 3-1 and reach the second phase of the World Cup where they take on Germany for a place in the quarter-finals. To clinch qualification, Paraguay needed a two-goal win and for South Africa to lose their match against Spain. They looked out for the count after Milenko Acimovic put already-eliminated Slovenia into a 1-0 half-time lead, netting seconds before the break. However, some inspired tactical changes from veteran boss Cesare Maldini conjured up a famous win with three goals from substitutes, Nelson Cuevas bagging a double either side of an effort from Jorge Campos. The Paraguayans advanced to the last 16 by virtue of scoring six goals to South Africa's five after they both finished on four points. Paraguay now face Germany on Saturday in this same Jeju World Cup Stadium. After spending the entire tournament deriding Group B rivals Spain, Paraguay's veteran goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert had a change of heart after the Spanish crucially beat South Africa 3-2 in Daejeon.
"I want to congratulate Spain and send them a big hug!" laughed Chilavert.
He said the next round would be a severe test but the celebrations could begin for now.
"That will be really tough," said Chilavert. "But this is just a great day for the whole of Paraguay and the Paraguayan people."
Maldini said his side had had to fight tooth and nail - but that it had been worth it.
"Football is a game where you have to suffer and our team suffered a lot. We played well and got a good result. We came with some hopes that we could win and qualify for the next round," said the 70-year-old Italian.
Slovenia, rocked by the sending home of their star player Zlatko Zahovic after their first match, were only playing for pride after two earlier losses. They had a numerical advantage after Paraguayan midfielder Carlos Paredes was sent off after just 22 minutes but Slovenia's Nastja Ceh also went for an early bath for a high tackle with ten minutes left. Chilavert made a dreadful blunder as he allowed Acimovic's low shot to slide from his grasp and into the net to leave the Paraguayans a goal behind at the break. At that stage the South Americans were on their way home. Acimovic almost made it 2-0 shortly after the restart, cutting in and blasting an effort which beat Chilavert but hit the crossbar. Chilavert, desperate to become the first goalkeeper to score in the World Cup finals, came close to making amends with ten minutes left, a thunderous free-kick forcing an excellent save from Mladen Dabanovic, who tipped his effort onto the bar. By that stage the Paraguayans had turned the tables to go 2-1 up, despite the loss of Paredes. After withstanding waves of Slovenian attacks Paraguay levelled when 22-year-old Cuevas finished a mazy run into the box with a crisp left-footed shot which found the back of the Slovenian net on 65 minutes. Milan Osterc should have fired the Slovenians back in front in the 71st minute but his effort on the run was just wide. Osterc then sent over a cross shot which Chilavert pushed onto the bar as Slovenia put the Paraguayans under pressure again. It looked as if Paraguay were about to blow their last chance of a place in the second phase before Campos popped up to fire them into an improbable lead from the edge of the box on 73 minutes. And with six minutes to go, Cuevas tore goalwards and blasted an unstoppable drive into the roof of the net to secure a stunning victory and with it qualification.

(courtesy of dailysoccer)




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Page created by Christakis Ioannou on 12 June 2002 23:34:49.