Spain is one step closer to claiming their first World Cup title as a David Villa goal in the 83rd minute coupled with a tremendous penalty kick save by Iker Casillas gave Spain a 1-0 win over Paraguay and a date with Germany in Wednesday’s semi-final.

The game opened in a conservative style with the Paraguayans allowing the Spaniards little space to operate their effective passing game.

Controversy once again ensued in the 41st minute as a crossed ball fell to Paraguayan forward Nelson Valdez who promptly shot it inside the net and began to celebrate only to see the offside flag raised. Replays show striking partner Oscar Cardozo being offside but Valdez onside, though the view for the linesman was obstructed.

The second half was much more eventful, particularly a five minute period.

In the 57th minute Spain defender Gerard Pique held onto one of Cardozo’s arms in the penalty area with both hands dragging him down as the ball was crossed in and Paraguay was rightly granted a penalty shot and Pique given a yellow card.

A nervous Cardozo stepped up to take the kick and fired it low and to the right where Casillas quickly stopped and held the ball to keep Spanish hopes alive.

Only three minutes later it would be Spain that would get their chance to take the lead from a spot kick. Spanish forward David Villa ran into the penalty area and was seemingly brought down by Paraguayan defender Antolin Alcaraz. Their seemed to be minimal contact but the penalty was indeed given.

Xabi Alonso was given the task to put Spain ahead and he seemingly had as he fired the spot kick past Paraguayan keeper Justo Villar but Alonso was forced to take the kick again thanks to encroachment in the penalty area by Spanish players.

Alonso stepped up one once again but this time had his shot saved by Villar who allowed a large rebound and was lucky not to concede another penalty after tripping Cesc Fabregas who was trying to reach the ball.

The game settled down and extra-time seemed to be looming until a piece of Spanish magic undid the Paraguayans in the 83rd minute. Andres Iniesta dribbled by two players and into the Paraguayan area, he then found substitute Pedro Rodriguez who struck the ball off the left post and out but the ball fell right onto the path of Villa who made no mistake and fired the ball off the right post and in.

It was Villa’s fifth goal of the tournament and a huge lift to Spanish hopes.

Paraguay’s Roque Santa Cruz had a great opportunity in the 90th minute to tie the game but was stopped by the marvelous Casillas.

Cardozo was left in tears and inconsolable at the final whistle while Villa celebrated proudly. A rematch of the Euro 2008 final is now in the cards after the Germans disposed of Argentina 4-0 in the earlier quarter-final.

A David Villa strike in the 63rd minute allowed Spain to get past Portugal 1-0 and move on to the quarterfinals.

Spain started the matched brightly with Torres exposing Portuguese make shift right-back Ricardo Costa as he tested Portuguese keeper Eduardo with a curling shot in the very first minute of the match causing the keeper to make a acrobatic save.

Eduardo was indeed superb in the early going parring away multiple shots from Villa, keeping Portugal in the game.

The Portuguese tactical setup allowed the Spanish to keep the majority of the ball with the Portuguese defence soaking up the pressure in the first half.

Indeed, the best chance for Portugal in the half was on the counter attack as a strike by Tiago was stopped by Spanish keeper Iker Casillas with the rebound nearly being met by Portuguese striker Hugo Almeida’s head.

A Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick late in the first half seemed to fool Casillas as the Spanish keeper bungled the ball but luckily over the head of incoming Portuguese midfielder Pepe.

At the end of the half, ball possession favoured Spain by a 60 to 40 margin with the Portuguese defence holding up well but with little in the manner of attacks.

Almeida was the lone attacking force for Portugal in the second half as he nearly opening the scoring on a brilliant run getting the better of Gerard Pique and seeing his crossed ball in the Spanish penalty area deflect off of defender Carlos Puyol and nealry into the net.

Portuguese attacks were few and far between as they continued their defensive approach and this would prove to be the their undoing in the second half as Spain began to look for the breakthrough and found it in the 63rd minute.

A sublime touch pass allowed David Villa to get behind the Portuguese defence and was left one on one with Eduardo who managed to stop the original stop but could do nothing as Villa slotted the second ball into the gaping net.

The Portuguese goal was breached for the first time in the tournament as the newly signed Barcelona striker had put Spain ahead.

Surprisingly Almeida was taken off for Danny by Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz four minutes before the goal though he had been giving Spanish central defence duo Puyol and Gerard Pique problems with his pace.

Fernando Llorente replaced Torres in the second half and nearly added to the Spanish lead as the 6 ft 5 striker caused Portuguese central defender Bruno Alves plenty of problems and caused Eduardo to come up with a great save off of a free header shirtly after coming in.

Portugal finish the tournament having scored in only one game and questions abounding about the future of coach Queiroz as he was criticized by players after the game for his negative tactics.

Spain will next play Paraguay on Saturday afternoon and with a victory will set up a mouth watering clash against either Argentina or Germany in the semi-finals.

When the World Cup draw was made months ago, the match-up with Brazil and Portugal was seen as perhaps the best match of the group stage. Two technically gifted sides that played attractive attacking football that would make for a classic of a game.

Unfortunately, do to the circumstances surrounding the game, that proved to be a unrealistic possibility.

Heading into the game, Brazil sat comfortably at the top of the group with six points while Portugal sat second with four and a impressive goal difference of seven after thrashing North Korea. A draw would see both teams through and Brazil maintain first place and that is exactly what happened as the game finished 0-0.

Though much was said before the game by both coaches about going for the win and defensive approach was taken by both sides.

Carlos Queiroz made several changes to his line-up after the 7-0 win over North Korea introducing Ricardo Costa, Duda and Real Madrid man Pepe into the mix.

On the other side, Brazil coach Dunga rested Robinho while replacing the suspended Kaka and injured Elano with Julio Baptista and Nilmar.

The Brazilians pressured the Portuguese early and nearly got a breakthrough in the 30th minute as a crossed ball into the area found Nilmar who’s attempt was parried off the bar by Portuguese keeper Eduardo.

A controversial moment came just a minute later as Portuguese midfielder Danny ran into the penalty area and laid the ball off to midfielder Tiago who went down in the area after colliding with Brazilian Gilberto Silva.

No penalty was given and instead Tiago was given a yellow card for diving. Replays showed that their may have been a faint push in the back by Silva but the right call was indeed made.

The first half ended in a whimper with neither side establishing much in the half.

Portugal seemed to get into the game more in the second half, the 60th minute saw a brilliant run by Cristiano Ronaldo who beat three Brazilian defenders until Lucio managed to tip the ball away from him in the penalty area right into the path of Portuguese midfielder Raul Meireles who was left one on one with Brazil keeper Julio Cesar who manged to get a piece of the shot to send it wide.

Portuguese left-back Fabio Coentrao was put back into the winger role he originally played when he started his career and was marvellous as his defence kept Brazilian defender Maicon at bay from making his usual dramatic runs down the sidelines.

The last great chance of the game fell to Brazilian midfielder Ramires in injury time as a struck shot from outside the box deflected off the back of Portuguese defender Bruno Alves forcing Eduardo to make a brilliant save to keep the game scoreless.

Portugal became the only side in the 2010 World Cup to not concede a goal in the group stages and are now unbeaten in 19 games.

Brazil will next see action on Monday June 28th against Chile while Portugal will meet Group H winners Spain on Tuesday June 29th.

They were supposed to be the also-rans of the group, a team that would be lucky to even manage a point in South Africa. Through staunch defending and timely goals however New Zealand proved they belong on the world stage despite bowing out of the tournament with a 0-0 draw against Paraguay.

Needing to defeat the strong South American outfit, New Zealand took a conservative approach in the first half by placing ten men behind the ball and looking for counter attack opportunities. This allowed the Paraguayans to hold much of the possession in the half with the Kiwis hardly threatening at all.

The second half saw both teams looking to open things up but the Kiwis were again unsuccessful at getting any attempts on net.

Perhaps the game’s best chance came in the the 76th minute through Paraguayan substitute Lucas Barrios who cut into the box and shot a rather weak ball at New Zealand keeper Mark Pastone who smothered the rebound before Barrios could get a second attempt.

Truth be told, knowing they needed a win to progress to the next stage, New Zealand’s defensive approach to the match gave them a very little chance to progress to the next round.

Paraguay was very much content with trying to break down the New Zealand defence and knew their superior goal difference would likely see them top the group with only the possibility of a Italian goal barrage putting that in doubt.

With Slovakia defeating Italy by a score of 3-2, Paraguay topped Group F with five points followed by Slovakia with four.

New Zealand though can take pride though that they do not finish bottom of the group that shockingly falls to 2006 World Cup champion Italy, a thought that would have been the farthest from thought before the tournament.

Paraguay will now wait to see who they draw in the next round. With the Netherlands currently topping the group with six points and a strong goal difference, the likely opponent will either be Denmark or Japan who are both on three points and take on each other later today. Cameroon has been eliminated from the tournament and take on the Dutch.

Paraguay will next see action on Tuesday June 29 in Pretoria.

It was supposed to be a close match, after all North Korea had defended so well in their first game against Brazil and Portugal had been having trouble finding the back of the net and were missing inspirational midfielder Deco who was out with a hip injury.

Things certainly did not turn out that way.

It was a rainy start to the game in South Africa,the first half was closely contested with both teams trading chances early, the best of which was by Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho who headed the ball off of a corner kick and hit the post.

The breakthrough came in the 29th minute as Portuguese midfielder Tiago passed a perfect through-ball to Raul Meireles in the penalty area and he made no mistake slotting it past the North Korean keeper.

Cristiano Ronaldo found himself with some open space and looked to add to Portugal’s lead but shot the ball wide right before the half.

The North Korea defence was very resilient in the first half against the waves of Portuguese attacks but the second half would prove a different story.

Sublime passing by the Portuguese in the 53rd minute allowed winger Simao Sabrosa to break into the peanlty area and shoot the ball between North Korea keeper Myong-Guk Ri’s legs to put the Portuguese up by two.

The floodgates would then begin to open.

Now having to search for goals, North Korea opened up their defensive approach and Portugal took full advantage.

A beautifully crossed ball found the head of Portuguese striker Hugo Almeida who made no mistake and put Portugal up 3-0 after 56 minutes.

If the game wasn’t out of reach yet, a Ronaldo pass into the box in the 60th minute was met with a well positioned shot by midfielder Tiago to make it 4-0.

Nothing could go wrong for Portugal, substitute Liedson’s first touch on the ball was a goal as a defensive miscue by the North Korean left the naturalized Portuguese player wide open in front of net and he simply hammered in the fifth Portuguese goal.

In perhaps the most important and humorous event of the match, Ronaldo was able to break in on the North Korean keeper who came sliding out to meet him, the ball would then ricochet onto Ronaldo’s back and then onto his boot where he shot the ball into the open net. It was 6-0 for Portugal but more importantly Ronaldo’s first goal for Portugal since Euro 2008.

A well headed ball by Tiago in the 89th minute added to the North Korean misery as North Korean fans were able to watch their team from home for the first time at this World Cup. It will be a game North Korea fans choose to forget.

With the decisive win, Portugal moved three points up on the Ivory Coast and holds a substantial nine goal difference over the Ivory Coast and will take on Brazil in their final group stage game on Friday June 25th.

North Korea who was officially eliminated from the tournament will take on the Ivory Coast at the same time.

The seven goals scored by Portugal was the most in team history at a World Cup.

In one of the most highly anticipated matches of the group stages, Portugal and the Ivory Coast opened up the ‘Group of Death’ with a 0-0 draw.

The main storyline entering the match was the fitness of Ivory Coast star striker Didier Drogba who required surgery on a injured right arm after going down in a heap during a friendly match against Japan before the World Cup commenced. The availability of the striker was in serious doubt with early reports even suggesting he may miss the whole tournament.

A miraculous recovery after surgery though had him back on the training grounds with teammates in preparation of the opening fixture.Before opening kick-off it was announced that Drogba would not start the game but was in fact on the substitutes bench.

The first half kicked off with both sides using a cautious approach to adapt to each others tactics. Cristiano Ronaldo proved the first moment of true danger in the game in the 11^th minute hammering a shot from distance that clanged off the post.

The Portuguese star who has not scored for his country in over 16 months was left shaking his head at his lack of luck while Drogba was seen on the bench thanking the heavens that the ball did not go in.

Ronaldo would be given several other chances, particularly from free kicks but was unable to produce anything of significance.

With Drogba on the sidelines, the Ivory Coast attack was provided mostly by Gervinho who gave Portuguese right-back Paulo Ferriera problems with his pace and opened up avenues for his teammates.

Portuguese midfielder Deco worked his was into the penalty area and his cross was met by the waiting head of striker Liedson who was unable to beat Ivory Coast keeper Copa.

The introduction of Drogba as a substitute in the 65^th minute provided the contest with a little bit more sizzle as both teams began to open up looking for the opening goal.

Drogba would in fact have a excellent opportunity in front of the Portuguese net in the dying minutes but peculiarly sent the ball across instead of striking at the net.

Both teams defences were quite strong with Ivory Coast centre-back Kolo Toure and Portuguese left-back Fabio Coentrao in particular putting in excellent showings.

The result leaves Group G with much to be decided with the Ivory Coast playing Brazil on Sunday in their next match while Portugal take on North Korea on Monday.

Heading into South Africa, the Portuguese national team faces a stern test having been drawn into the so called “Group of Death” featuring the likes of Brazil,Ivory Coast and the lesser light of the group North Korea.

The 2010 World Cup draw was the last thing on Portuguese minds just a few months back when it looked like  qualification would be an after thought. Having been unable to defeat both Sweden and Denmark and dropping points to the likes of Albania, Portugal found themselves needing help to even confirm a second place finish in their qualifying group.

With consecutive wins over Hungary and a Denmark defeat of Sweden, Portugal confirmed a second place group finish. A two-legged playoff against Bosnia-Herzegovina would ensue with Portugal winning both matches by a score of 1-0, doing so with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo sidelined with a leg ailment for both fixtures. Portugal had booked their trip to South Africa but question marks still mired the squad.

First and foremost, the team’s reliance on Ronaldo is a concern considering he has failed to produce at the international level compared to the success he has had domestically with Manchester United and with current club Real Madrid.

In fact, the world’s most expensive player did not score a goal throughout the whole 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, which was a prime reason why the national team struggled in qualification.

The tactics of new coach Carlos Queiroz may be playing a part in Ronaldo’s decline and the former Manchester United assistant is facing increasing pressure after a poor qualifying campaign. One of the major concerns for Quieroz, is his lack of striking options on the squad.

With the retirement of Pedro Pauleta after the 2006 World Cup and the regression of Benfica striker Nuno Gomes due to his age, the lack of top notch strikers has hurt the development of the team.

The lack of a top notch striker was such a concern that as soon as Sporting Lisbon’s Brazilian born striker Liedson was granted Portuguese citizenship he became the first choice striker right away ahead of Werder Bremen’s Hugo Almeida and the aforementioned Gomes.

While the striker position is a concern, it is hardly the only issue on the squad. With first choice right-back Jose Bosingwa being ruled out of the tournament because of injury, Paulo Ferreira and Miguel have been doing their best to impress Queiroz in hope of securing the starting position.

The left-back starting position is also a highly contested battle between Malaga’s Duda and Benfica’s Fabio Coentrao.

Coentrao, who was converted to left-back from his natural position as a winger, has been extremely impressive and should have the advantage for the starting spot. The young Portuguese player is one to watch for the future as he is very technically gifted and has magnificent poise with the ball.

In terms of strengths, Portugal does boast a top class midfield with the likes of Chelsea star Deco,FC Porto’s Raul Meireles, along with a talented wing player in the form of Atletico Madrid’s Simao Sabrosa.

The centre-back duo of Bruno Alves and Ricardo Carvalho is one of the best in the tournament so much so that Real Madrid’s Pepe has been converted from centre-back to defensive midfielder in order for him to feature in the starting eleven.

Portugal is one of the enigmatic teams of the tournament and has the talent to win the whole competition but could also crash out in the group stages. The reliance on Ronaldo must not occur considering his lack of finish on the international stage and contributions from the likes of Liedson, Simao Sabrosa and Deco will be a must if Portugal wishes to go far in the tourney.

The Colorado Avalanche re-signed defenceman Adam Foote on Tuesday to a one-year deal. Foote,who turns 39 in July, will be going into his 18th season in the NHL and has caught on as a mentor in the Avalanche organization.

Foote played for the Avs from 1996 to 2001 and than departed and played a few seasons in Columbus before rejoining the Avalanche in 2007. Foote’s leadership is a asset to a very young Avs squad and he has become the mentor to Avs rookie Matt Duchene who lived in Foote’s basement throughout his rookie year according to TSN.

Terms of the deal were not released but the hard hitting Foote is still an accomplished defender that provides depth for the organization. Solid move by the club and filled a need for next season.

The 2010-11 offseason will be a interesting one for the Colorado Avalanche. General manager Greg Sherman will need to make one of two choices. He can stick with the core youth that produced season beyond expectations or he has the ability because of significant cap space to acquire several top notch players to bolster the squad. Both choices come with the possibility of disaster with the youth players possibly taking a step back next yearwithout added help, while adding the wrong star element could stunt the development growth of the likes of Matt Duchene and Chris Stewart.

To put the entire situation in perspective here’s the Avalanche’s current situation heading into the offseason.

Signed players for 2010-11 season

Forwards: Paul Stastny, Matt Duchene, Milan Hejduk,Cody McLeod, Ryan O’Reilly, T.J Galiardi, Ryan Stoa, David Jones

Defense: Scott Hannan, John Michael-Liles, Kyle Cumiskey, Ryan Wilson

Goaltending: Craig Anderson

13 players with a cap hit of 28,959,999

Avalanche RFA’s

F Peter Mueller $1.7 million this year……..Prediction: $2.2 next year

F Kevin Porter $1 million this year…………Prediction: $1 million next year

F Chris Stewart $800,000 this year…………Prediction: $3 million next year

F T.J Hensick $800,000 this year………….Prediction: $800,000 next year

F Cody Burki $800,000 this year…………..Prediction: $800,000 next year

D Wes O’Neill $800,000 this year…………..Prediction: $800,000 next year

F Brandon Yip $800,000 this year…………. Prediction: $1 million next year

D Raymond Macias $600,000 this year….. Prediction: $600,000 next year

D Kyle Quincey $500,000 this year…………Prediction: $2.5 million next year

D Derek Peltier $500,000 this year…………Prediction: $500,00 next year

In all likelihood, the likes of Burki. Macias, Peltier and O’Neill will start the season in the minors. Adding the likes of Quincey, Mueller, Stewart, Hensick, Yip and Porter will give the Avalanche nineteen players on the roster at a projected total of 39,459,999. With a projected cap at $56.8 million this gives the Avs plenty of flexibility.

Avalanche UFA’s

D Brett Clark

D Ruslan Salei

D Adam Foote

F Darcy Tucker

F Marek Svatos

G Peter Budaj

F Brian Willsie

F David Koci

F Phillipe Dupuis

F Stephane Yelle

F Darren Haydar

D Brian Fahey

F Matt Hendricks

D Brett Skinner

G John Grahame

F Chris Durno

G Tyler Weiman

F Marty Sertich

Analysis: Adam Foote and tough guy David Koci are the most likely to be retained by the club unless unforeseen salary demands are made by the pair. Foote will not command the three million he earned last year and if he decides to play another season a salary of 1.5 million to 2 million dollars a year. Koci on the other hand will likely not demand anything more than the $600,000 he earned last year. As for the rest of the crop, Marek Svatos was a huge disappointment this year and is unlikely to be re-signed. Darcy Tucker’s declining skill set along should see him cast off as well and the combined six and a half million spent on Brett Clark and Ruslan Salei could be better used elsewhere. Goaltender Peter Budaj may also be let go and replaced with a more veteran backup for Craig Anderson.

Possible UFA targets:

Defenseman Paul Martin: Martin went through a injury plagued year but the American is a solid defenseman at both ends of the ice and should Foote not return would provide a stabilizing influence on the blueline.

Predicted asking price: 4.5 million

Forward Raffi Torres: The gritty winger would be an upgrade on the likes of Darcy Tucker and is still reasonably young and could add to the existing young core. He was less than stellar in his stay with Buffalo but is still a valuable player to have on the roster

Predicted asking price: 2.5 million

Forward Adam Mair: Mair would be a great fit on the Avs bottom two lines and provides a cheap veteran presence on the bench. Buffalo is unlikely to let him go

Predicted asking price :1 million

Other possible targets: Matt Cooke, Zbynek Michalek, Michael Leighton, Antero Niittymaki

Conclusion:

The Avalanche are unlikely to go after the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrick Marleau and Anton Volchenkov and will likely be looking to tweak the roster rather than make wholesale changes. The draft and free agency should allow the Avalanche to improve and become a more legitimate threat in the Western Conference next season.