Quarterfinals are set after Paraguay and Spain prevail
The Round of 16 officially came to an end on Tuesday and it did so with a bang, as Paraguay capped off a scoreless match with a 5-3 advantage in a penalty kick shootout to claim a 1-0 victory over Japan.
The victory put Paraguay through to the quarterfinals for the first time ever.
Meanwhile, Spain escaped with a 1-0 victory over a very defensive-minded Portuguese team. With the loss, Portugal failed to beat (or so much as score on an opponent) not under a totalitarian communist dictatorship for the third time this World Cup.
More World Cup links:
- Did you watch the U.S. fall to Ghana on Saturday? You weren't alone. A record 19.4 million U.S. viewers tuned in, which is a record for soccer in the U.S. and more than the Masters, NBA Finals and MLB World Series.
- The U.S. has a population that historically loves to play soccer, but isn't big on watching it. According to the New York Times China is the opposite.
- The referee who disallowed Frank Lampard's goal against Germany has been given his walking papers as has the ref who failed to whistle Carlos Tevez during his first goal against Mexico.
- A lot was made of if or how the World Cup would effect the South African ahead of the tournament. Preliminary figures indicates its been a resounding success.
- Struggling Spain forward Fernando Torres has the support of his more successful teammate, David Villa.
- The English tabloids are having a field-day after Portuguese star Christiano Ronaldo allegedly spit at a camera after ha 1-0 loss to Spain.
- Even Brazil is getting beat up by the press, which accidentally ran an add which claims Brazil had been eliminated.
Pictures of the Day:
Japan's Yuichi Komano misses a shootout penalty against Paraguay. Paraguay advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time with a 5-3 victory over Japan in penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw. (AP Photo)
Japan soccer fans react to Yuichi Komano's missing in a penalty shootout against Paraguay. (AP Photo)
Paraguay celebrates its 5-3 shootout victory to advance to the quarterfinals as Japan goalie Eiji Kawashim can't stand to watch. (AP Photo)
Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He may be reached by e-mail at petercunningham@annarbor.com, or by phone at 734-623-2561. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.
Comments
Pete Cunningham
Wed, Jun 30, 2010 : 2:02 p.m.
Tater, The only numbers to base a wane in interest on so far are ratings from games on Monday and Tuesday, which of course are not going to draw the same audience as a game with the U.S. involved in it on a Saturday. Its hardly a the U.S. hates soccer phenomenon, just common sense. People work during the week. Even if the U.S. was involved, ratings would be lower during the week than on a weekend. This is why the quarterfinals, semis and finals are on the weekend. Not to give players a rest, but to draw a maximum television audience. That said, I expect numbers to be down this weekend because the U.S. is out, but again, this is hardly a U.S. phenomenon nor is it a soccer phenomenon. Did as many people in Michigan watch the 2009 MLB World Series as in 2006 when the Tigers were involved? Of course not. Even in soccer-crazed France, interest has dropped considerably since Les Bleus were eliminated. In a Variety.com article about the ratings of the World Cup, it was noted that In France, where the national team has been knocked out, leading commercial web TF1 saw TV auds halved from 15 million for games featuring the home team to 7.4 million (a 33 share) for Sunday's Argentina-Mexico match and just 5.6 million (49 share) for Germany-Eng. The article also details similar drops in popularity in England. Italy is an exception to this trend. Id recommend reading the entire article. It should also be noted that its not just the U.S.s oust from the tournament will likely cause U.S. audiences to flip the channel this weekend. Mexico and England are easily the second and third most popular national teams on this side of the pond and the fact that they are gone hurts potential viewership. Again though, this is hardly a U.S. showing disinterest in soccer phenomenon. Wouldnt you expect more people to tune in for a Yankees-Dodgers World Series than Kansas City-San Diego? Ive never been under the illusion that soccer will become as popular in the U.S. as it is in Europe, but it is beyond me why some people seem to want nothing more than the bottom to fall out on the sport and froth at the mouth for a sign of the U.S. soccer apocalypse. To say that the US will likely never be a legitimate threat to win the World Cup is short-sited to say the least. First off, practically no one has a legitimate chance of winning the tournament. Of the 76 nations to ever participate in the World Cup, only seven have ever won. Secondly, dont base your judgment on misconceptions about the U.S. sucking and other countries being the have all end all. Lets present the case of the USA, Mexico and England. If someone said that England or Mexico would win the World Cup in the next 12 years it would be considered a legitimate prediction, but if someone said that about the U.S. it would be met with rolling eyes. But lets look at the teams recent World Cup history (since 1994). 1994 US: Advances to round of 16, Mexico: same, England: Did not qualify for tournament. 1998 US: Eliminated in group stage, Mexico: Advances to round of 16, England: Same. 2002: US: Advances to quarterfinals, Mexico: Advances to round of 16, England: Advances to quarterfinals. 2006: US: Eliminated in group stage, Mexico: Advances to round of 16, England Advances to quarterfinals. 2010: All three advance to round of 16. Theres my two cents. Thanks for tuning in.