PRETORIA // The streets of Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, were painted red and white last night as the country reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time. But in the locker room in Pretoria, the Paraguay players were struggling to come to terms with what they had achieved. Following a dire, drab and disappointing 120 minutes of football, Gerardo Martino, the coach of La Albirroja, was forced to send his side into a penalty shoot-out. When Oscar Cardozo coolly slotted home after Yuichi Komano, the Japan defender, had earlier struck the crossbar, emotion got the better of the Argentina-born manager and he was seen crying tears of joy. In the dressing room afterwards, Justo Villar, the Paraguay captain and goalkeeper for Valladolid, told his teammates that it would take time for their monumental achievement to sink in. Martino agreed. "I believe that Villar was right. We might not understand the necessary importance of this match now; only afterwards can we appreciate its importance," the emotional coach said.
The encounter started hesitantly and ended tensely with both teams knowing they were on the brink of history - Japan, also, had never reached the last eight at a World Cup. Neither side pushed for the victory - Japan sat increasingly deep and Paraguay were able to find space in the final third, but wasteful finishing and poor link-up play let them down. Lucas Barrios, the Argentine-born forward, almost opened the scoring in the 21st minute when he turned two Japanese defenders inside the area, but his shot was struck straight at the body of Eiji Kawashima between the Japan posts. Minutes later, Daisuke Matsui, impressive in a central midfield role, saw his right-footed, dipping strike cannon off the crossbar with Villar well beaten. "We didn't play too well, but there was obviously a lot of fear and tension during the match," Martino said. "I think we were playing for a win in regular time and believe we were more in the spotlight."
In fact, it was Japan who looked most likely to score for the majority of the game, with Keisuke Honda always looking dangerous. Paraguay were toothless in attack, yet their coach refused to condemn his forward line, despite them managing just three goals in four games. "I don't want to be unfair to my attackers, because perhaps sometimes it is a matter of how you get the ball: faster, from different angles. I won't criticise the forwards for not scoring, but I just hope our future opponents will allow us to play in a different way. If we had more space, it would be more convenient for us." With the South Americans facing Spain in the quarter-finals, such a request is unlikely, but Martino insisted the victory was more important than the way in which it was achieved. "It is the first time for us to reach the quarter-finals, but it would have been the first time for Japan also, so there was enthusiasm to write a new chapter in the history books," Martino said. "It might not have been what people wanted to see, but neither the winner or the loser has anything to regret. "Everybody knows it is unfair for a game to be decided by a penalty shoot-out, but that's the way it is. Both teams had made a huge effort, so there is a reason for tears, but we got just lucky during the shoot-out." gmeenaghan@thenational.ae Man of the match: Keisuke Honda (Japan)