“World Cup success is determined in a narrow, interminably cruel window of four weeks, usually less for those not traditional powers, once every four years. Through the collision of time, money, effort, coaching, tactics, health, form, draw, and referees, a singular determination is made about the relative quality of a national team program based on a handful of games.” (Match Fit USA)

“Since the World Cup started, guardian.co.uk users have been rating the players after each match. From our monster list of all ratings, we’ve pulled out four key lists” (Guardian)

“They say that consistency helps in football. Especially in terms of number of players you use. This seems to be one of Japan’s tactics, as they enter this game with the same XI that began each of the group games with. Paraguay give first starts to Edgar Benitez and Nestor Ortigioza, as they become the sixteenth and seventeenth players to start for the South Americans (with two others having played as substitutes). Ortigoza makes his World Cup debut, leaving Dario Veron and Rodolfo Gamarra as the only two outfield Paraguayans to see any action.” (twohundredpercent)

Cardozo’s clincher sends Paraguay to first Cup quarterfinal
“The last thing Paraguay wanted was to wind up in a shootout with Japan. After all, the South Americans almost never practice penalty kicks — or have any success when they do. Yet Paraguay took the most difficult route to its first World Cup quarterfinals Tuesday. After 120 exhausting minutes without scoring, the Paraguayans found their touch in penalty kicks, making all five to beat Japan.” (ESPN)

Paraguay 0-0 (5-3 on penalty kicks) Japan – Video Highlights, Recap, Match Stats – World Cup – 29 June 2010
“Two sides who weren’t expected to make into the quarterfinals met in the round of 16 as Paraguay faced off against Japan. One would reach their first ever quarterfinal while the other would be knocked out of the tournament.” (The 90th Minute)

“The ball is lighter, the players are faster, the tactics are more complex. And if you’re a referee working the 2010 World Cup and you can’t keep up and be in the right position, you may blow the call, outraging the hundreds of millions of fans watching worldwide.” (Smithsonian)

“We know what the proper and sporting thing to say here is. Great game, Germany. You really stuck it to England in Sunday’s World Cup match, you clearly had the fitter team, you dominated the pitch and deserved to win. Bravo, Deutschland. Fantastic hair, too. Eh, yawn. This is no fun at all. Sorry, Deutschland. Let’s talk about The Outrageously Blown Goal of the Century.” (WSJ)

“By now, the FT’s award for worst team of the World Cup is almost as prestigious as the golden trophy pocketed by the winner. The US won our inaugural prize in 1998, followed by Saudi Arabia in 2002 and Serbia in 2006. All were truly terrible teams, but this year’s contenders matched any of them.” (FT – Simon Kuper)

“So far in the World Cup, it’s Donald Rumsfeld 1 Pele 0. The former Defense Secretary’s sneering dismissal of Old Europe seems, in this realm anyway, prophetic, as anciens regimes slink home to the continent in disgrace; while Pele’s famous pronouncement that an African team will win the World Cup by the year 2000 seems unlikely to come true before 2014 at the earliest.” (The Paris Review)

“It is accepted soccer religion that no one wants to see a game decided by penalty kicks. Yet it is also soccer law that if certain matches remain tied after 120 minutes of play, that is exactly what will happen. Beginning today with the World Cup’s round of 16, when one match determines who advances and who is knocked out, that law takes effect.” (Vanity Fair)

“The FIFA World Cup attracts over 36 billion viewers in little over 4 weeks and this year the tournament will be held for this first time in South Africa. We have taken a look below at the economics of the World Cup when it comes to stadiums and sponsors.” (knowyourmoney)