BEST16



It was the first game in this World Cup that went all the way - but in the end the right team were left to cry tears of joy.

None more so than emotional Paraguay boss Gerardo Martino who wept in the arms of his assistants as his players went wild celebrating their historic achievement.

This was a game no neutral really fancied watching - and nothing that happened for 120 minutes did much to change that view. But for sheer drama and raw human emotion it was one of the most memorable games in these finals.

Lucas Barrios went close after 20 minutes but Japan keeper Eiji Kawashima denied him with a brave block.

Seconds later Daisuke Matsui struck the bar with a 30-yard piledriver while after 28 minutes Manchester City hitman Roque Santa Cruz missed from six yards.

Ten minutes later Keisuke Honda's left-footer from the edge of the box was just wide but that was it for the first half.

The match actually challenged England versus Algeria for the unwanted title of the worst game of the World Cup.

And it was about as exciting as the prospect of keeping Fabio Capello on as Three Lions boss for two more years. In a way it was understandable. Neither side had reached the quarter-finals before. They knew that they would scarcely, if ever, have a better chance to progress and caution prevailed.

Even so Paraguay were better and looked to go forward and threaten while Japan sat back throughout.

Despite dumping out world champions Italy in the group stage, Paraguay are the more pedestrian of the South American sides.

It was punishing, exacting and exhausting - and that was just for the spectators.

Five minutes into the second half Paraguay thought they had the breakthrough as Nestor Ortigoza burst into the box but Marcus Tanaka denied him with a last-ditch tackle.

Ortigoza slotted Edgar Benitez through but Yuji Nakazawa blocked. On the hour, Cristian Riveros caught a bullet header from Claudio Morel Rodriguez's cross but Kawashima gathered.

It came as no surprise when it went to extra time and even less so when it came to the Russian roulette of a shootout.

Japan's Kawashima had saved one against Frank Lampard in the friendly against England last month. He stopped another in the group stage when he denied Jon Dahl Tomasson in the 3-1 win over Denmark.

But he couldn't do anything as the Paraguayans took theirs like robots.

The first five kicks all went in as the tension mounted. Then Yuichi Komano slammed his onto the crossbar and over.

Nelson Valdez kept his head to smash it down the middle then Honda gave Japan hope by coolly beating Justo Villar.

要約　決勝トーナメントの一回戦で日本はパラグアイと対戦した。川島のビックセーブなどでパラグアイの攻撃を耐えた日本はPK戦にもちこみ、ランパードやトマソンのPKを止めていた川島に期待がかかったがPK戦で敗れた。


感想　日本の選手はとてもがんばっており、国民に夢を与えてくれたと思う。日本のサッカー界はこれからもっと盛り上がると感じた。