Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
It’s been a while coming but the World Cup’s first penalty shoot out saw the end of Asian interest in the World Cup, as Paraguay beat Japan 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw were both sides failed to give a true representation of their abilities.
Neither country had made the last eight before – and it seemed the chance to make history paralysed both teams. A tepid first 20 minutes ended with Japan’s Daisuke Matsui’s long range drive hitting the cross bar. Chances and fluency were also infrequent in the second 90 minutes, as both sides seemed to be more concerned with making sure they didn’t lose rather than showing any real “carpe diem” spirit.
Lucas Barrios and Nelson Valdez both had half chances in extra time, but the penalties that were easy to anticipate duly arrived, with Paraguay shooting first. At 3-2 the fall guy proved to enter the stage. It was to be Japan’s full back Yuichi Komano. His penalty didn’t lack power or conviction, but it didn’t quite have the accuracy, slamming off the cross bar and into the night sky.
Keisuke Honda, Japan’s man of the tournament, kept his nerve at 4-2 when Japan had to score, but that still meant Paraguay would go through if substitute striker Oscar Cardozo could score. Cardozo jogged up nonchalantly, and side footed the ball into the net once he’d seen keeper Eiji Kawashima commit himself.
So Paraguay continue their journey, and South America’s dominance of the competition. There are now four sides from South America in the last eight, each in a different quarter final. There are signs of encouragement for Asian football too.