Death of the King @ 2'

Paraguay, the King of Negative Football, was pronounced dead at just 2 minutes into the 1/4 final match.

What I expected to be a boring match took a 360 degree turn and ended up... well, a boring match. Just 2 minutes into the game, Nery Castillo's breakaway down the center forced Bobadilla to foul him. Ref's decision of not only awarding a PK, but also red carding Bobadilla took Paraguay right out of their game, and forced them into their worst nightmare.

Not only goal down, they had to attack while man down. Paraguayan coach Martino choosing not to substitute on offensive players was a conservative decision (so they could fall back into their defense-counter attack opportunist game after equalizing) and it certainly didn't help Paraguay to capitalize on the several opportunities they created. Then Mexico counter attacked and went successful at 27 minute. Torrado's goal effectively pronounced Paraguay's death.

Negative football is a dangerous game to play. Mexico plays a defensive but balanced game, and they deserved this win. We'll analyze Mexico's current setup after the other 1/4 final match tonight.