Game 1: Paraguay (5) 0 : 0 (3) Japan

• Paraguay: Controlled possession today, but didn’t really create the best chances. They have the strikers in Valdez and Santa Cruz to score goals, the delivery was there too, but they just couldn’t convert. Going forward it should be interesting to see how they match up against Spain, they’ll need to be a little more patient passing in the penalty box and really take care of their chances.

• Japan: Had a few chances which they couldn’t convert today and missed out on progressing on just one penalty kick. A great long-range shooting team, they tested Paraguay a few times, just barely missing. Their free-kicks shined again, coming close as well. Honda had a good game, creating plays and attacking by himself as well. With Honda in the lineup and other players such as Morimoto coming up, Japan should only keep improving in the future

Game 2: Spain 1 : 0 Portugal 

• Spain: Great performance overall, Spain’s passing game is always a pleasure to watch. David Villa was outstanding again, scoring the winner, and firing a few great long-range shots that really tested the keeper. Sergio Ramos excelled as well, making great forward runs which resulted in him almost scoring once, as well as defending tight. Just like Brazil, this team is really balanced, their only weakness is that sometimes they rely on using the middle a little too much, but they have used the wings more lately. Should be extremely hard for Paraguay to beat.

• Portugal: A great defensive team, they just couldn’t get over the hump offensively today. They had a few half chances — mostly on the counter-attack — but couldn’t really convert. Cristiano Ronaldo barely saw the ball as Spain marked him tight. Going forward,they need to add a better offense to their defense by adding a few more creative players in the middle, to get the ball up front to Ronaldo or the other forwards. They do have good young players to use in the future (Nani, Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho), so Portugal should remain a top team.