Paraguay progress, NZ exit unbeaten
Paraguay qualified for the last 16 of the World Cup despite being
held to a goalless draw by a well-organised New Zealand in their Group F
match on Thursday. New Zealand were eliminated after three draws but had
the satisfaction of finishing higher than holders Italy who also went
out after losing 3-2 to Slovakia and finished bottom. Paraguay's coach
Gerardo Martino was pleased to get through to the second round but
unhappy with his side's performance.
"We played very badly in the first half and we played better in the
second half," he said after the match.
"I'm pleased with the qualification but not with the way we played.
We had a lot of problems in an area where we didn't expect, and that was
in attack." Striker Roque Santa Cruz agreed the game had been poor.
"We're very happy to have qualified but it was a very difficult game,"
he said. "The game got boring because they were so defensive. In a game
like this you expect to win but the important thing is we qualified."
New Zealand, who had also held Slovakia and Italy, came into the
tournament considered to be one of the weakest teams, and coach Ricki
Herbert was thrilled the side had remained unbeaten. POLOKWANE,
Thursday, Reuters
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