PREVIEW
▲New Zealand vs Paraguay
Paraguay will look to a trio of sharpshooters to see them into the World Cup second round, while New Zealand, surprise contenders for a place in the last 16, are hoping luck favors them at last.
The South Americans seemed the better team for much of their opening 1-1 draw with world champions Italy and easily beat Slovakia 2-0 to top Group F ahead of tonight’s match.
New Zealand, one of the lowest ranked teams in South Africa at 78th in the world and with no big name players, have confounded the pundits by holding Slovakia for their first ever World Cup point and then Italy by the same 1-1 scoreline.
As underdogs, the affable All Whites are fast becoming a favorite for neutrals around the world and should garner most cheers at Polokwane’s Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Their fans at home have been glued to screens watching an unheralded squad surprise the world, leading to an explosion of interest in soccer in a rugby-mad land.
Paraguay are expected to push for goals through Roque Santa Cruz, Nelson Valdez and Lucas Barrios — a striking trio that overpowered Slovakia.
“When we face New Zealand, we need to go out with the same attitude. Qualifying is down to us,” Paraguay defender Paulo Da Silva said.
Paraguay, who have four points ahead of Italy and New Zealand on two, need only draw to guarantee their progress, but will be wary of the Kiwis’ height and prowess at set pieces.
“New Zealand have shown in their two previous matches that they have an important physical strength and that they are good in the air,” Da Silva told reporters. “They are good on counter attacks and we have to keep doing what we did against Slovakia.”
Paraguay’s Argentine coach Gerardo Martino could slot the fit-again Santa Cruz in behind Barrios and Valdez — a potent attack that would test a New Zealand back four that will again be led by the inspirational Ryan Nelsen.
The All Whites captain marshaled his troops admirably during an onslaught by Italy on Sunday, when goalkeeper Mark Paston and the woodwork saw off 23 shots, seven on target.
In contrast, New Zealand managed just one shot on target — Shane Smeltz’s seventh minute goal — and not one corner.
New Zealand, who will be unchanged, need a win to guarantee qualification, but if Italy and Slovakia produce a stalemate, the All Whites could go through with a higher scoring draw.
What they lack in experience and skill, the Kiwis make up for with spirit and self-belief and, having already exceeded expectations, all the pressure will be on Paraguay.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but