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2130 Ronaldo is getting slaughtered by the RTE panel. A bit harsh in my opinion. If he was playing with that Spanish midfield behind him, he'd probably have a hat-trick to his name. He tried a few stupid things but got nothing off the ref and worked hard all night. Either way, that's the end of Ronny and Portugal at the World Cup and it leaves us all at a bit of a loose end for the next two days with no football until Friday afternoon.
Time to get that list of chores out and put the head down for a couple of days because when we're back on Friday it's the real deal - the quarter-finals and to kick it off, how about Netherlands v Brazil to start?
2125 Spain march on as Portugal's defensive game plan came unstuck thanks to David Villa's 63rd-minute strike. After that Portugal had little to offer as they went in search of an equaliser. Overall, the better team went through and Spain will have to fancy their chances in the next round as they take on Paraguay.
91 min Portugal throw everything at Spain now. Some great defending by Capdevila clears the danger. Then Ronaldo gets down the left and smashes one across the box. Too many red shirts and Spain clear as the ref blows for full-time. Spain are through to face Paraguay in the quarter-finals.
89 min Capdevila drops to the ground as a cross comes into the box and the ref hands a straight red to Ricardo Costa. Hard to say really as most TV angles missed it. A high shot across the 18-yard show an arm swinging out but still cannot say if there was contact.
88 min Ball drops to Danny on the edge in space - blasts one goalbound but great block by Capdevila to save the day.
87 min Villa picks Llorente out with a pin-point cross. A glancing header beats the keeper but also the post. Very close to sealing the victory there.
85 min Great cross-field ball to Ronaldo on the edge of the box. Capdevila clearly manhandles the former Manc to the ground but again the ref waves play on.
83 min Spain seemed to hold on to ball for an age there as Portugal chase around like headless chickens. Looking a bit jaded now.
79 min YELLOW for Tiago for a foul on Villa. Tiago out of next game if Portugal progress, unlikely you'd have to say at this stage.
76 min Another fine stop from Edouardo as Villa lets rip from the left edge of the box. Great shot, great save.
75 min Portugal break but Puyol gets across to take man and ball as Coentrao almost gets in on goal.
73 min YELLOW for Alonso for needless foul in the midfield.
72 min PORTUGAL SUBS Simao and Pepe off for Mendes and Liedson.
70 min And now its Spain's turn to counter as Ramos is played in down the right. He cuts inside and blasts one with his left across the keeper who gets down smartly to fingertip wide of the post. Great save.
68 min Spain sitting a bit deeper now as Portugal have no choice but to push out of their half. Portugal looking to make another change as they try to rearrange.
63 min Spain on the attack on the edge of the box. Ball played into Xavi who plays a neat back-flick to Villa who is charging in on the left. First effort is well saved by Eduardo but the ball bounces back to Villa who dinks it over the keeper off the underside of the bar and in as Spain take the lead.
63 min GOAL SPAIN 1-0 PORTUGAL, David Villa
60 min First touch and Llorente almost puts Spain in the lead. A great ball into the edge of the six-yard box. Llorente's diving header went straight at the keeper who saved well.
58 mins SUBS Danny on for the impressive Almeida while curly finger for Senor Torres as Llorente takes his place.
55 min Just had to check there that 'likelier' was indeed a word. Sounded right in my head but didn't look right in print... Where were we...??
54 min Spain starting to look like they have no Plan B as they try to pass through the Portugal midfield and defence. Having no joy and Portugal starting to look the likelier of the two to score.
51 min Almeida makes a burst down the left, cuts inside the two Spanish defenders and tries to slot it across for the onrushing Ronaldo. The ball flies up off Puyol's leg and over Casillas, bounces a yard from goal and lukily for Spain the wrong side of the post.
48 min A bit of a slower pace to the start of the second half with Spain getting plenty of ball but not doing much with it.
2034 And we're back...
2018 Wow, how fast did that first half go? Great start by Spain who could have taken an early lead but the hard-working Portuguese are well in this with several chances of their own with Tiago and Ronaldo both coming close.
2016 Half-time Spain 0-0 Portugal
42 min Portugal attack again down the left and the ball drops to Coentrao who clips a great ball into the danger zone with Almeida flying in to connect with a decent header but flies wide of the target.
41 min Spain corner easily dealt with and Eduardo sets up a counter attack. Simao played through on goal and Casillas makes a great charge out of his box to just get there before the heavy-legged Simao. If that was Ronaldo charging through he would have definitely got there before Casillas and we'd be cheering a Portugal opener.
38 min Almeida gets part of his mane on a great cross in from the left but just mis-times his jump and misses a great chance to score.
35 min Long range Spain effort from Xavi and Carvalho launches himself in the line of fire to block. Very hard working side these Portuguese.
34 min Ronaldo down the left wing. Clips it past Ramos and gets blocked. ref waves play on. In fairness to the ref, he's letting a lot of little obstructions and pushes go unpunished and the game is a lot better as a result.
32 min Spain on the attack again and this time Iniesta tries to slide one down the right wing but he has put too much pace on it and the ball goes long for a goal kick.
30 min Spain again try to knock it around outside the Portugal box. This time Portugal up the work rate and don't allow them as much time on the ball with Ronaldo helping out. Xavi ends up hitting one from distance which is way wide.
27 min Ronaldo drives one and its on target and looking dangerous for Casillas who attempts to scoop it up over the bar as the ball moves about the place. In the end the ball sort of pops up off the keeper's chest and the ball is cleared.
26 min Soft free for Portugal about 15 yards outside the box. Have a guess who might be shaping up to hit this one??
24 min More Spain pressure and great build-up as they thread some passes through the deep Portugal defence. Alonso and Iniesta getting more involved and the final pass almost put Villa down the left but again just too much on the final ball.
23 min Iniesta in space on the edge of the box. Tries to slide it through for Torres to run on to but too much on the pass and danger averted.
19 min Great chance for Portugal as Tiago lets fly from distance. Casillas can only parry and the ball is dropping into the net but the Real Madrid number one gets back to swipe it off Almeida's head to clear off the line. Best chance of the night and again the Spain defence looked shaky as Portugal attacked through the middle.
17 min Half chance for Torres as Spain get back on the attack but Portugal deal with it.
15 min First lollipop of the night as Ronny attacks down the right. Looks like he is fouled as he clips the ball past Capdevila but the ref looks straight past him and lets play continue as Spain clear.
11 min Spain corner and played short to Torres who tries an audacious effort as he attempts to whip it, Stevie Gerrard style, over the keeper into the far corner, and a little more whip and it would have nestled into the far side of the net. That's more like it 'Nando.
9 min Better from Portugal as Ronaldo breaks down the right and cracks one into the box at pace. Almeida cannot get up with the pace of the ball and it flies wide. Decent ball but the fact that Almeida wouldn't launch himself at it made it look like it was a bit sloppy.
7 min Portugal ease the pressure and win a couple of corners and it has to be said that Spain look a bit shaky with the ball being whipped into the box. An offside call on Ronaldo helps Puyol and the lads to do what they couldn't and Spain clear.
5 min Villa on target again from closer in on the left as Spain maintain the pressure. Another good save and it's all Spain at the moment. Shaping up to be a bit of a cracker this one.
4 min Decent cross into the box and this time the highly rated Portugal keeper Eduardo takes a great catch to ease the pressure.
3 min What's that Mr Villa? You want a bit of this action. Well there you go. Villa drives one on target and another decent stop from the keeper although again he doesn't even attempt to catch and slaps it clear.
1 min Spain straight on the attack and Torres does a bit of a David Villa impression and hits one from distance, cutting in from the left - great strike and a decent save although a bit of a dive for the cameras as he could have caught it, instead punching clear. Great start by Spain.
1930 Anthems in the bag and just enough time for Ronaldo to say a quick prayer and we're off. Spain in traditional red and blue, Portugal in white shirts and green shorts. Game on.
1925 Five minutes to go now and the RTE panel of Brady, Whelan and Giles are predicting a Spain win but if Ronaldo can produce a world class display, Portugal can sneak it. Nice bit of banter about the Torres' form as well with Whelan saying that he only makes runs for himself, Brady picked up a bit of analysis showing good Torres running for two of Villa's goals - expect that one to resume during the half-time break and beyond.
1910 Right then, we're back. Twenty minutes to kick-off here for the big Iberian derby. And the teams are in:
Spain: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pique, Puyol, Capdevila, Xavi,
Busquets, Alonso, Iniesta, Torres, Villa.
Replacements: Valdes, Albiol, Marchena, Fabregas, Mata, Arbeloa,
Pedro, Llorente, Javi Martinez, Silva, Jesus Navas, Reina.
Portugal: Eduardo, Ricardo Costa, Carvalho, Bruno Alves,
Fabio Coentrao, Tiago, Pepe, Raul Meireles, Simao, Hugo Almeida,
Ronaldo.
Replacements: Beto, Ferreira, Rolando, Duda, Mendes, Liedson,
Danny, Miguel, Veloso, Ruben Amorim, Deco, Fernandes.
Referee: Hector Baldassi (Argentina)
Fair play to Paraguay - they progress to the quarter-finals to face Spain or Portugal. My heart is pounding. My fingers are knackered. The South American peno's were serious, two calmly rolled in after the keeper had dived, two blasted down the middle and one scraped in under Kawashima. Still, the one that mattered was Komano's effort which hit the top of the bar. He's in tears, bad luck Japan. Pants game, great shootout, bring on the Iberian cheatfest.
Japan YYXY - Paraguay YYYYY
Cardozo...very calmly rolls it in. Paraguay win!
Cardozo for Paraguy. Scores this & they win
Japan YYXY - Paraguay YYYY
Honda...rolls it in easily
Honda for Japan
Japan YYX - Paraguay YYYY
Valdes...powers it down the middle & scores
Valdes for Paraguay
Japan YYX - Paraguay YYY
Komano...hits the bar!
Komano for Japan
Japan YY - Paraguay YYY
Riveros...calmly rolls it down the midde & scores.
Riveros for Paraguay
Japan YY - Paraguay YY
Hasebe...blasts it in.
Hasebe for Japan.
Japan Y - Paraguay YY
Barrios rolls it in under the keeper - close.
Barrios for Paraguay
Japan Y - Paraguay Y
Endo...scores! Right side, curler.
Endo for Japan
Japan - Paraguay Y
Boretto...scores! Bottom right corner. Great pen.
Boretto to shoot first against Kawashima. It's on!
Paraguay win the toss. One would assume they'll go first. And they will.
Both Ronnie & Eamon have plumped for Paraguay.
That's it! It's our first penalty shootout.
I've been considering how to do this, given the limited resources I have, I'll announce the name of who's coming up to take a pen and then it'll read:
Japan YYYXY Paraguay XXYYX, where Y is a scored pen, X is a miss. That clear with everyone? Remember to press F5 frequently to refresh and keep up with the TENSE ACTION! HAVE IT!
27 mins Tamada skips away from a tired lunge on halfway and powers into the Paraguayan box. He lays it off for Okazaki, whose clever backheel finds Tamada again. He tries to flip it up for Hasebe's head, but he misdirects the pass by a mile. Decent chance gone a-begging.
25 mins Five minutes until penalty heaven/hell.
24 mins Endo is booked for a tired sliding challenge and will miss the quarter-final should Japan get through - that's a serious blow for the Blue Samurai, as he takes the vast majority of their dead balls and he's pretty good at it.
23 mins Yet again, a Paraguayan defender doesn't keep his distance from the Japanese attacker - in this case Alcaraz and Okazaki - and it's a free for Japan. Endo's ball is high and none too handsome, but Okubo is there at the back post. Alas, he can't force his header on target.
21 mins Morel corner for Paraguay into a decent area, Da Silva rises well, but his header is wide off the upright.
19 mins Really impressive, intricate break from Japan, advancing quickly down the left wing, several neat lay-offs bring them to the edge of the box, but then Endo goes down too eagerly and is penalised for his poor acting.
17 mins Endo's delivery, this once, is weak and it's dealt with by the first man.
16 mins Straight back into it. And another silly foul by the Paraguayan defenders gives Japan another chance to float one in.
Extra time half time Fair play to both sides, they both tried to win it there. 15 minutes until our first penalty shootout of this World Cup.
13 mins Barreto barges into Honda who accepts the opportunity to win a free. Endo swings it in but it's too near Viveros, who gathers at the second attempt.
11 mins Back the other end and Barrios dummies inside Hasebe, but Nakazawa is there again, launching himself horizontal to clear with his head. A long throw causes havoc in the Japanese box and it rebounds up for Barreto to try a looping header, which might have troubled Kawashima but it floats onto the roof of the net.
9 mins Free for Japan 30 yards out on the right. Honda drives it low and hard into the six yard area and Nagatomo - running into that space - just misses out on the touch that would have surely guided it into the net.
7 mins It is on like Ariston - Morel drifts inside and stabs it into Valdes, who turns Tulio sharply and is one-on-one with Kawashima. Valdes slides to try and poke it home, but the Japanese keeper denies him. The ball rebounds out to Barrios, who tries an ambitious header goalwards from outside the box to no avail.
5 mins Already more chances than the entire second half - Valdes chases a lost cause, turns inside and whips in a cross, slightly behind Barrios, who manages to divert an effort goalwards, but it's straight at Kawashima.
4 mins Cardozo on for Santa Cruz - poor decision in my book. Unless Benfica's Cardozo makes me eat my words.
2 mins Corner for Japan - terrific delivery, dipping into the six yard box and Endo gets on the end of it and tries the very difficult skill of flicking it back behind him towards the goal. It drifts wide, but inspiring start from Japan.
0 min Japan, first out of the blocks, break upfield and Nakazawa receives wide right and has a crack. Morel lunges in to block and the ball rebounds dangerously over the bar.
1700 The panel are - literally - discussing recipes. In between, Dunphy praises both relatively minor footballing nations getting this far and notes that the prize for the victor is a hiding by Spain. Or Portugal. But probably Spain.
1655 Eamon beams with the warming glow of having predicted this stalemate. Ronnie notes that although this game has been pure muck for us neutrals, Japanese and Paraguayans are no doubt coiled in inhuman tension throughout. Penalties may cause mass spontaneous combustions in both countries.
Full time Sin é. 30 more minutes of this. That said, Japan upped their efforts significantly in the last few minutes. Alas, to no avail. It reeks of penalites, but any mistake could be punished. I fear that both sides will hold back now for extra time, more afraid of making mistakes and losing than going out and winning.
90+3 mins Paraguay's turn for a last throw of the dice as Morel floats it into the box, but it's rebuffed with ease.
90 mins Last chance saloon as Endo floats in a free for Japan. It's nodded on by Tulio and it hangs in the air - Viveros stands his ground, opts not to come and claim it. Honda lauches himself at the dropping ball, but it's just too far away.
86 mins Hello - some sustained possession by Japan. Passing it around outside the tightly packed Paraguayan defence. They're moving it from side to side, looking for an opening. Two crosses in there, both headed clear. Japan are upping the tempo and perhaps they were playing rope-a-dope. They're certainly trying to nick it here in the dying minutes.
84 mins Roque Santa Cruz is far and away the best player on the pitch. He collects it deep, holds off his marker and tries a one-two with Vera, but his teammate lets him down with an over-hit return. He going hunting for the ball now and could be the man to fashion a winner. But it's just as likely that aliens will land in the middle of the pitch.
81 mins Long ball forward from Japan, headed away by Paraguay. Paraguay move forward, then give it away aimlessly after two passes. I've seen plays more entertaining than this.
78 mins Our only hope is that the game opens up a bit as the players get even more tired. Although it's more likely that both sides will get even more cautious as the clock winds down. There is practically no movement from any players ahead of the ball.
75 mins Good God this is worse than Ireland v Egypt all those years ago. I STRONGLY recommend not subjecting yourself to the lowlights of this game in the round-up show this evening. Call your mother. Take up a musical instrument. Learn a language. Anything but this.
71 mins Finally, Honda gets involved and Japan almost open up Paraguay. Long ball forward is delicately touched down by Honda and then he picks it up again, drives at the defence and cuts back a clever ball for the unmarked Okubo at the right edge of the box. His attempted low cross is blocked out for a corner, which goes nowhere. But Honda has the ability to get Japan in here if they get it to him and make some supporting runs.
68 mins This is cack. Caceres floats a high ball into the Japanese box from the halfway line. Kawashima, having watched it for five seconds, opts to come and collect, but misses it altogether and manages to almost knock out Tulio with a tiger knee as well. The ball, meanwhile, sails straight out of play.
65 mins Midfielder Matsui off and Japan's top scorer in the past year Shinji Okazaki comes on - positive move, come on Japan, get into the game.
63 mins Alcaraz gets under his header and it sails out for a corner to Japan. The delivery is excellent and Tulio climbs well and he looks certain to power a header goalwards, but Santa Cruz pops up deflects it away. He's been their best defender in the box, unfortunately he can't put his aerial ability to use at the other end as he being wasted out on the right wing.
60 mins Paraguay, really, only need to work a little harder because Japan's defence are there for the taking. Rodriguez whips in a nice cross and Benitez gets in front of a static Japanese back four to nod a header on target, but it's straight at Kawashima. Benitez is then subbed off and heads straight for bed. Valdez comes into the 'fray' and is buzzing around with incongruous intent. He manages to commit a foul within five seconds.
57 mins First yellow of the game for a deliberate handball by Matsui, who palmed the ball down as he struggled to trap it. Even the yellow card is dull.
55 mins Nagatomo has ambled forward, the ball breaks to him so he has a lash - the Japanese team all seem to have excellent shooting ability. This effort cannons off Da Silva and loops up into the hands of Viveros. Up the other end, Benitez is through but Nakazawa again hurls himself in front of the ball to block.
53 mins The players on both sides seem so knackered that any injection of pace or well-placed ball over the top is creating serious space, which, as of yet, cannot be exploited. I'm not exaggerating folks - these guys look like they've already played two matches today.
50 mins Ortigoza finally acts like he wants to score and runs at the Japanese defence, plays a neat one-two and he's in on goal. Unfortunately, he dummies back in on his right and Nakazawa cunningly lies down in front of him to block his shot.
48 mins Goodness gracious - this is a knockout World Cup game and the players are strolling around out there. What the hey? It's like England are playing.
45 mins We are back. Paraguay passing it around the back. Japan hanging deep. Vu of the deja variety.
1600 No changes for either side, except hopefully in their tactics. Goals please. Although I have a serious jones for some penalty tension.
1555 Dunphy suggests that Spain/Portugal are more or less guaranteed to cruise into the semis against either of these sides. No argument here. Ronnie agrees with Trevor Steven that Japan look knackered after their efforts to get this far and that Paraguay should push on more and try and win the game.
1550 Midfield wizard Ronnie Whelan bemoans the woeful standard of the passing. Lots of balls have gone way too long or even straight out of play. Eamon and Daragh Moloney consider the poor quality of the two teams on offer and speculate that Ireland could have done pretty well in South Africa against sides of this calibre. Let us not forget we beat Paraguay in the RDS not too long ago.
Half time Stalemate. Japan sitting deep, defending effectively and looking to hit Paraguay on the break, but unable to put one together so far. The South Americans had a wealth of possession, but only managed to squeak through the blue wall once, and then to no avail. The game, in the parlance of sports analysis, needs a goal like FIFA needs a new president.
42 mins Shots of the coaches reveal the state of play - the Japanese manager appears relatively content, or else he has a great poker face. The Paraguayan coach is the opposite - he looks exasperated, gesturing furiously to his players. One might infer that he reckons his side should have taken advantage of their extensive possession.
39 mins Nice counter attack by Japan - Matsui gets away with it down the right and charges at the Paraguayan back four. He holds it until the last minute before rolling it over to Honda, who tries to score with a first-time effort from the edge of the box. It screws wide of the upright. Honda had Hasebe wide left in acres.
36 mins Endo opts to float in a cross and it's a beauty, inswinging and dropping into the mix. Santa Cruz pulls off a great defensive header to clear for a corner, which is dealt with.
35 mins Da Silva follows through on Honda and it's a free in a great position for dead ball specialists Japan - 25 yards out, right side of the goal. Let's see how they fare.
33 mins Japan really struggling to do anything on the rare occasions that they get a foot on the ball. Trevor Steven on the commentary observes that he thinks they look tired - this is the same starting XI for Japan that has played all three games so far.
29 mins Corner for Paraguay not dealt with and the ball just drops to Santa Cruz's feet eight yards out. He snatched at it a bit and it fizzes wide of the post. Really good bit of fortune wasted there.
26 mins It's fallen back into the same pattern after those two chances. Paraguay definitely looking the more likely, starting to get solid crosses into the danger area and Japan defending a little bit too deep for my liking.
22 mins And Japan answer straight away as the ball breaks to Matsui 30 yards out in front of goal and he lets fly first time - and hits the crossbar! Great strike.
20 mins First real chance and it falls to Paraguay's Lucas Barrios. Innocuous-looking ball into Santa Cruz at the edge of the box is clevely flicked by the Man City player to Barrios, who turns smartly and finds himself one-on-one with the keeper - but he can't finish, Kawashima out sharply to block.
16 mins Both sides tidy and comfortable in possession, but they are both - frustrated by smothering and stacked defence - reduced to flinging long balls wide or into the box, which are being dealt with very easily. That 10/1 win on penalties bet is looking pretty tasty.
13 mins Both sides working tigerishly to close down their opponents in possession and as such, both sides are negating each other early doors.
10 mins Paraguay settling down now, keeping possession better at the back, but finding few gaps in the Samurai's armour so far. Santa Cruz dropping very deep to get involved.
7 mins First coherent move by Paraguay sees Santa Cruz drift out wide to get a touch and he whips in a delicious ball - Riveros and Benitez hurl themselves at it, but end up crashing into each other and they take a few minutes to shake that one off.
4 mins Japan getting it forward quickly, not afraid to try their luck from distance - Endo's effort from 35 yards was a dribbler, though. A slow start for Paraguay.
1 min Bonet miscontrols in defence for Paraguay right from the tip-off and Okubo robs him and fires in a solid shot, but it's always wide of the near post.
1455 Ronnie's prediction - Japan in extra time, Eamon - Japan on peno's. Teams on the pitch, let's play some high stakes elimination football.
1450 Dunphy reckons that both teams are well organised, stingy in defence and will be difficult to break down. It has, he says, 'got stalemate written all over it, it's going to penalties and I've ordered my dinner for half six.' Know it - Japan to win on penalties can be had for 10/1.
1445 Teams are in for the game:
Paraguay: Justo Villar (capt); Carlos Bonet, Antolin Alcaraz, Paulo Da Silva, Claudio Morel Rodriguez; Cristian Riveros, Nestor Ortigoza, Enrique Vera; Roque Santa Cruz, Edgar Benitez, Lucas Barrios.
Japan: Eiji Kawashima; Yuto Nagatomo, Yuji Nakazawa, Tulio Tanaka, Yuichi Komano; Yuki Abe; Makoto Hasebe (capt), Daisuke Matsui, Yasuhito Endo, Yoshito Okubo; Keisuke Honda
1440 Eamon Dunphy weighs in on the technology on the panel. He suggests that each coach has one 'call' a game to challenge a ruilng. He also wants a video review the day after a game so that all fouls, diving and other serious offences would be retroactively punished, a la the citing committee in rugby. It would, he insists, save the game from injustice and cheating. I pray for the day.
1435 Alas, we must brush off the comfy towel of nostalgia and embrace the fuzzy present. Today's first match sees Japan face Paraguay for the chance to lose to Spain or Portugal in the quarters. One last transfer note - Roque Santa Cruz, a serious value buy at £3.5m for Blackburn Rovers, until he also went on to suck at Man City. Again with the money baths.
1430 A great one has been unearthed here on t'internet - Fabio Cannavaro. Player of the tournament in World Cup 2006 and then forgot how to play after his transfer to Real Madrid, or stopped caring. Too many money baths like Scrooge McDuck.
1420 Does Tomas Brolin's 1995 transfer from Parma to Leeds for £4.5m count? The Swede was a hero for his country at USA '94, as part of a dangerous attacking three-hander with Kennet Andersson and Martin Dahlin.
For the record, Sweden were also pretty handy in the very first International Superstar Soccer game at around this time.
2pm Stephen Cosgrave has some harsh words for the man I'm inclined to call 'Dioufer'.....
He reckons: 'Ian has called El Hadji Diouf a ‘poor impulse buy’ – that doesn’t do it justice. We let Nicolas Anelka (on loan with us at the time) leave and spent 10 million on a guy who’s only real contribution in the World Cup was setting up Senegal’s winner against France.
'I honestly think that one piece of business set Liverpool back about 5 years.'
1325 Coleman has conjured up the bleak memories of Daniel Amokachi for Everton - clang. He also points out that our own Gary Breen - linked to big money moves in Italy & Spain after his exploits in the Far East - was somewhat exposed at West Ham. 'World Cup to Barnet in three moves', says Coleman. Bobby Fischer would be proud.
1320 Ian has pointed the finger at Liverpool for poor impulse buys, witness El Hadji Diouf and our own USA '94 'stars' Jason McAteer and Phil Babb. He expects to see Ghana's Asamoah Gyan at Anfield in no time.
1305 Some solid gold flops being put forward - Steven offers Rosicky, a debatable one - his compatriot Poborsky comes up a lot. Other prime cuts of wasted beef - Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba, Salif Diao, Roman Pavlyuchenko - there are so many, this may take some more research. Keep your suggestions coming in.
1245 Barry writes in with a prime example of a post-World Cup/Euro Champs impulse buy flop - Milan Baros. Mercy. Let's here it for other memorable failures - sportonline@rte.ie
1230 The World Cup is, amongst other things, the best possible shop window for players from all over the globe. To wit, some Premier League clubs have already started sniffing around the better performers.
Aston Villa have 'expressed an interest' in South Korea centre back Cho Yong-hyung, while Celtic will open talks tomorrow with South Korean right back Cha Du-ri. Man City are hunting Serbian left back Aleksandar Kolarov - and may send Dutch midfielder Nigel De Jong to Arsenal - while West Ham are pursuing Mexcio's Efrain Juarez and Spurs are after Danish centre half Simon Kjaer.
Phew! No doubt they'll be a lot more of this throughout the summer and no doubt a bunch of them will not cut it in the harem-scarem pace/horrible winters of the Premier League. One thing's for sure - I doubt any Slovaks will be transferring to Serie A.
1210 Terry Ghee emails (off his iPhone no less) to say:
'Japan is hoping for a good performance tonight. The rain is lashing down in Tokyo and the bars are filling up. Nobody expected Japan to come this far and now the nation is dreaming of a quarter final. Come on the Samurai Blue! Should be an interesting game!'
Brian Doherty is back to say:
'Very interesting stats on the world cup semi finalists indeed. On tonight’s (what should be a) cracker – just in case anyone thinks it’ll be a walk in the park for Spain:
'Portugal are the only side left in the competition who have yet to concede a goal - and they boast a decent recent record against Spain, who have managed just one win over their cross-border rivals in the last 10 meetings.
'It all makes for a great game. Ronaldo v possibly the best Spanish team of all time! Let’s go!'
All live on RTÉ 2.
After which we will have to go several days WITHOUT A CONSTANT DIET OF LIVE WORLD CUP FOOTBALL!
1120 OK here's the stats: in 1934, four European teams (Italy, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany) reached the semis.
It happened again in 1966 (England, West Germany, Portugal and the Soviet Union), 1982 (Italy, West Germany, Poland, France) and - of course! - 2006 (Italy, France, Germany and Portugal).
Europe is the only continent to achieve the distinction to date.
1115 Brian Doherty has e-mailed to say:
'There’s a chance (an outside chance at that!) that there could be four South American teams in the semi finals of the world cup – I wonder has that ever happened before?
'Really excited about both games today - I expect to see one, if not both of these games to be decided on the dreaded penalty kicks!'
Don't think that's happened before Brian......wonder how many representatives from one continent have made the semis actually.
Statto time.
1050 Interesting stat ahead of tonight's game: Spain have allowed the fewest shots on target against them of any nation in this World Cup.
Could that make for a cagey game if Portugal continue playing their defence oriented 4-5-1 formation with Cristian Ronaldo isolated up front?
Or will Ronaldo's pace be enough to trouble Spanish centre-halves Carlow Puyol and Gerard Pique on its own despite the lack of support.....
950 Sepp Blatter has apologised (again) for controversial refereeing incidents. The FIFA President says he told both England and Mexico he was sorry for the refereeing errors that saw England denied a goal against Germany and a clearly offside Carlos Tevez allowed to score against for Argentina against Mexico.
Get the full story here.
940 The World Cup quarter-final lineup is almost complete with just two spots left. Japan and Paraguay is the early game - with coverage from 3pm.
Should be a tasty enough tie with two teams capable of playing nice football.
But the big one is at 7.30pm: either Spain or Portugal will depart after the last of the Round of 16 games.
The fixtures already decided are:
Netherlands v Brazil (2 July, 3pm)
Uruguay v Ghana (2 July 7.30pm)
Argentina v Germany (2 July, 3pm)
Japan/Paraguay v Spain/Portugal (2 July, 7.30pm)
