Group F Presents Tough Challenge for Paraguay

Paraguay is the hot pick to join Italy in the knockout stages but Al feels the schedule could work against them.

How they got here
Paraguay performed impressively in the South American qualifiers finishing third and just one point behind Brazil, who topped the 10 team group. A draw on the road to Peru was followed by a 1-0 home win over Uruguay before Paraguay hit full stride with a 5-1 win at home to Ecuador, a 3-0 victory at Chile, and then a huge 2-0 home win over Brazil.

A road to defeat to Bolivia took the wind out of Paraguay’s sails but a draw at Argentina and three straight win over Venezuela, Colombia, and Peru got them back on track. Paraguay lost three of its next four games but still looked comfortable despite the dip in form. Three more wins over Bolivia, Argentina and Venezuela secured qualification and only defeat to Colombia, in a meaningless final qualifier, denied Paraguay the top spot.

Who to watch
Manchester City’s Roque Santa Cruz will want to make up for his disappointing performances with the English Premier League (EPL) side at this World Cup and prove his among the global elite of strikers. The front man’s attitude should be kept in mind when looking at World Cup betting, if Santa Cruz fails to perform then Paraguay will be in trouble as his strike partner has endured even more trouble in recent seasons. Borussia Dortmund striker Nelson Valdez hasn’t been able to get the playing time or the opportunities for goals necessary of a top level front man.

Paraguay has a strong EPL contingent with Sunderland duo Paulo da Silva and Cristian Riveros and Wigan’s Antolin Alcaraz all in contention to make the final 23 man roster along with Santa Cruz.

How they will perform
Paraguay possess a team which can overcome having players stretched all over the European, South American, and indeed North American leagues to consistently challenge the best their continent has to offer. This kind of chemistry can’t be overlooked and they are rightly favorites to join Italy in the knockout stages of the World Cup.

They will still have to do it the hard way however as Paraguay face Italy first. The meeting with Slovakia, who will almost certainly have beaten New Zealand, will prove crucial before that final group game with the All Whites where Paraguay may have to run up the score to secure a place in the knockout rounds. I like Paraguay to pull through but I’d be far more confident if their fixtures were reversed.

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