Kaiserslautern: Paraguay 2 - Trinidad & Tobago 0

Porfin! Finally! The albirroja's got the win they've been looking for, and so much deserved! The game was like an "away" game, because the crowd was heavily in favour of Trinidad & Tobago (why I neither know nor understand), but Paraguay handled the pressure very well, playing attractive futbol, attacking when necessary and defending when necessary. The win was very well deserved.

Valdez and Paredes played well again. Santa Cruz is overrated. The substitute goalkeeper Aldo Bobadilla was great. Another substitute, Julio Dos Santos, played excellently as well, in fact, he was the player of the game. I wonder whether results against England and Sweden would've been been different had he received more playing time. We'll never know.....

Without taking anything away from England and Sweden, it seems unjust that Paraguay is going home while the other two move on. England did not score against us, and neither did they look convincing in any of their games. Sweden did not beat Trinidad & Tobago, and did not look convincing against us either. The Swedish goal against Paraguay in the last minute of play looms gigantic, given that England and Sweden tied 2-2 today. Had we held on for 2 more minutes, we'd be through. Also, in all the games, Paraguay was the "away" team, especially vis-a-vis England and Sweden, who brought out their fans in masses. All in all, Paraguay played futbol deserving to move to the 2nd round. Alas, such is futbol. Ahhhhhh, the extasies and the agonies.........

After the game, the Paraguay players ran over to the Paraguayan fan section and waived and thanked for our support. Some of the players took off their jerseys and threw it into the crowd. The fans were joyous and happy, even though they knew their equipo was on their way home.

Here are a few pictures of the fantastic atmosphere at the Kaiserslautern Stadium.

Before the game:

Our view:

National anthems:

The game:















Christian cheers on la albirroja:

After the game, Chrstian and I celebrated with thousands of other fans. We walked the streets of Kaiserslautern, eating bratwurst & drinking beer. The fans from Trinidad & Tobago were equally joyful, for it was their first ever appearance at the Copa Mundial, and they earned the respect of everyone for their hard work on the field.

Here is a picture of the after-game celebrations:

Today's WM scores:

Germany 3 - Ecuador 0

Costa Rica 1 - Poland 2

Sweden 2 - England 2

Paraguay 2 - Trinidad & Tobago 0