For the first time in Paraguay's history, La Albirroja advances to the quarterfinals. It was a great scoreless match with the two sides coming close and leaving the fans hyperventilating with each miss. It’s the first match to go to penalty kicks in this world cup.

Despite some negative comments about the guarani offense, the team is playing great futbol. Now, La Albirroja is one of four South American teams left in the tournament. Spain struggled in the group stage, but they have revved their engines, and are now the team to beat. This will be the true test for Paraguay. Italy was weak and sported half a dozen players aged 30+, the Kiwis were happy not losing, and Slovakia was not much of a threat.

Tata Martino exclaimed after the match that we should ENJOY the win! With a full day of celebration behind us, it’s time to concentrate on Spain.

There are some fans out there that call Paraguay “Argentina’s B-Team”. Why? Well for one, La Albirroja have an Argentine manager and there are a few nationalized Argentines on the team. Some are calling La Albirroja “lucky”. For those that say those things, is it luck to beat Brazil and Argentina in qualifiers? Is it lucky to only have one goal scored against in four world cup matches?

Switzerland gave Spain a headache because they played defensive. Paraguay has a strong defense, probably the strongest in South America. We’ll see what happens this Saturday morning!