Paraguay Prevails: Japan Sent Packing After Missing In Penalty Kick Shootout

Paraguay is through to the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup, but the only thing that separated the two sides in Pretoria on Tuesday was a crossbar.

After a scoreless 120 minutes that saw two teams play each other to a stand-off, giving us the first penalty kick shoot-out of this year’s World Cup, with the tiebreaker’s decisive moment coming with the sixth kick, Japanese defender Yuichi Komano putting kiss kick off the crossbar.

Paraguay advances the its first World Cup quarterfinal after Oscar Cardozo scored on the ninth penalty kick, eliminating Japan 0-0, 5-3 on penalty kicks.

Japan and Paraguay went to the shootout after a scoreless 120 minutes and gained the advantage on the sixth kick when Japanese defender Yuichi Komano blasted his attempt off the crossbar. Nelson Valdez and Cardozo converted the two subsequent kicks to put Paraguay into the final eight,

Paraguay and Japan are scoreless through 120 minutes and will have the 2010 World Cup’s first penalty kick shoot-out, the winner going to the quaterfinals.

Neither country has ever made the quarterfinals, and after 120 minutes, penalty kicks will determine which nation will make its soccer history.

Japan midfielder Yasuhito Endo, last year’s Asian Player of the Year, has earned a yellow card. Having carried a yellow card into the match, Endo will be suspended for Japan’s next game, possibly the quarterfinals.

Endo was adjudicated to have obstructed a Paraguayan midfielder, drawing a booking from Frank De Bleeckere.

Japan coach Takeshi Okada has used the match’s last substitution, a like-for-like swap.

Yoshito Okubo, a surprise starter, has been brought off for Keiji Tamada, a fellow striker.

The first fifteen minutes of extra time is over, and although Paraguay generated the match’s first chance in the last hour of playing time, they remain scoreless after 105 minutes.

If the match is still tied after another fifteen minutes, Japan and Paraguay will go to the tournament’s first penalty kick shootout.

A Claudio Morel run from the left of attack set-up Nelson Valdez to go in one goal for a chance that was eventually saved by Eiji Kawashima, with two subsequent chances for Lucas Barrios blocked by Japanese defenders.

Morel threaded a ball through the Japan defense that Valdez turned on, but with defender Tulio Tanaka bothering the attacker at his right shoulder, Valdez was only able to stab at the ball from twelve yards out, an attempt that was saved by the Japanese goalkeeper.

Paraguay’s Gerardo Martino has used his final substitution, bringing on Oscar Cardozo for Roque Santa Cruz in the 94th minute.

Cardozo, the leading scorer in last year’s Portguese league, has a strong left foot on for direct kicks and is a good target on set pieces.

A tactical match that has seen slight adjustments by each side yield a relatively uneventful second half will go to extra time with Japan and Paraguay scoreless.

Paraguay has still held more possession but has limited the counter attacking opportunities given Japan in the first half. Japan has responded by bringing on more attack-minded personnel, but it has been to no avail. The match remains scoreless, with the teams having combined for five shots on goal.

Japan coach’s Takeshi Okada’s first substitution, bringing on Shinji Okazaki for Daisuke Matsui, hinted at an aggressive approach to the final part of the match, but taking off defensive midfielder Yuki Abe for creative midfielder Kengo Nakamura was not as subtle. With Okada’s second substitution, Okada is signaling his intent to try and exert more pressure on the Paraguayans.

Nakamura took Abe’s place in the 81st minute.

Midfielder Nestor Ortigoza, seeing his first time of the tournament, has been pulled-off by Gerardo Martino, with Edgar Barreto being subbed-on for Paraguay in the 75th minute.

Ortigoza had a strong match as a ball-winning midfielder, taking the place that has been occupied by Victor Cáceres to this point in the tournament.

Japan coach Takeshi Okada has surprisingly subbed-off Daisuke Matsui, responsible for Japan’s best chance and the creation of another for Keisuke Honda, bringing on Shinji Okazaki, moving to a set-up that features two players who play predominantly as strikers.

Yoshito Okubo was a surprise starter for Okada and was joined by Okazaki in the 6th minute.

Gerardo Martino, Paraguay’s coach, has made his first move of the match, bringing in Nelson Valdez for Edgar Benítez.

Benítez was a surprise starter in place of Valdez, but with the Borussia Dortmund attacker coming on, Martino maintains his three striker formation with one attacker who can play wide left.