Slovakia vs. Paraguay Match Preview

June 19th, 2010 | by: Paul | View Comments

When: Tomorrow, June 19, 2010; 1:30pm local time (7:30am Eastern US)

Where: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein. Capacity- 40,911

So far: In their First group F matches, all four teams began the World Cup with a draw. Neither team really impressed in their first matches, but it is important to keep in mind that Paraguay’s result came against a strong Italy side, while Slovakia conceded late (very late) to a New Zealand squad they should have beaten.

The situation: A win in this game will definitely be important to determine who moves on to the next stage. With Italy still left to play, this is more of a do-or-die situation than the one that Paraguay faces. The two teams are also very different from one another- Paraguay are experienced and more physical, while Slovakia are made up of younger, talented players that possess more flair. I expect to see both teams to come out aggressively to start, and whoever scores first will likely try to hang on to their lead for the rest of the game. Most are calling Paraguay the favorites for this match, but I’m going to chalk this one down as a 1-0 win for Slovakia. I believe beginner’s luck may be with the Slovaks tomorrow, and maybe long enough to see them through the group. Still, if a draw or a Paraguay win end up being the result, I wouldn’t call that a surprise at all.

Likely XI- Slovakia (4-4-2): Mucha, Zabavnik, Skrtel, Durica, Cech; Weiss, Strba, Hamsik, Stoch; Vittek, Sestak

Likely XI- Paraguay (4-3-3): Villar, Bonet, Da Silva, Alcazar, Morel; Vera, Caceres, Riveros; Santa Cruz, Valdes, Lucas

Key Players- Slovakia: In the midfield, Slovakia’s maestro is, without a doubt, Napoli’s Marek Hamšík. He is the creative force of the team, and Slovakia’s only major scoring threat from outside the box. It is also important to remember that Paraguay were weak through the middle against Italy- if they keep that up, Hamšík could run riot. Keep an eye on Vladimir Weiss (the younger), a fast winger who was the spark for Slovakia against New Zealand. If Martin Škrtel has a good day in defense and Jan Mucha is on his game, Paraguay won’t be scoring very much.

Key Players- Paraguay: Up front, Paraguay have Manchester City target-man Roque Santa Cruz, who hasn’t done much recently for his club, or country for that matter. However, he had some very good seasons at Blackburn Rovers and is probably waiting to explode at any moment and prove his recent critics wrong. Antolin Alcaraz, a defender, scored against Italy and did a very good job at holding off Italy’s attack. He could be a game-changer from the back.