Japan and Paraguay have taken the 2010 World Cup’s seventh Round of 16 match to halftime scoreless, both teams generating sparse chances in an evenly played first half.
World Cup 2010, Paraguay Vs. Japan: Even First Half Sends Teams To Half Scoreless
While Paraguay has dominated possession, holding 67 percent of the ball, their play has yet to significantly threaten Japan, with Lucas Barios generating one chance and another, for Roque Santa Cruz, coming off a corner kick.
As the possession numbers would hint, Japan’s best chances have come against the run-of-play. Daisuke Matsui hit the crossbar midway through the half with a shot from 24 yards while Keisuke Honda sliced a counter attack chance wide from near the arc.
Gerardo Martino, although starting Edgar Benítez (normally a forward), is playing a 4-4-2 with Benítez on the left, while Japan’s Takeshi Okada has, for the first time this tournament, started a striker (Yoshito Okubo) and is playing with three players high in his formation.
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