I did expect Paraguay to qualify for the knock-out stages – but they made hard work of it.
They were 2-0 up against South Africa in the first match and only came away with a draw, which meant that after losing to Spain, everything came down to their match against Slovenia.
A man down and a goal down at half-time they looked dead and buried.
But what a comeback. Three goals, two from the lively Nelson Cuevas, and they were through – breathtaking stuff.
But it was a case of after the Lord Mayor’s show from that stage on. The second round meeting against Germany was dull fare indeed and after a late goal, Jose Luis Chilavert et al were on the plane home.
Chilavert may have piled on a few pounds these days but he remains one of the entertainers of world football. It’s just a shame his team-mates didn’t measure up when it came to the crunch.
