Spain vs. Paraguay 2010 FIFA World Cup: Quarterfinals Predictions

And then there were eight.

Spain was expected to be here.

Paraguay? Maybe not so much.

Both Paraguay and Slovakia advancing out of their group, instead of Italy, might be the shocker of the tournament so far.

The South American country, one of four in the quarterfinals, has not exactly been putting on an offensive show in the World Cup, with a 1-1 draw with Italy, and then a 2-0 victory over Slovakia. Then, in the final game of the group stage, they drew 0-0 with New Zealand.

In the round of 16, they again had a 0-0 draw with Japan, and then advanced on penalty kicks.

They have scored only three goals in four games, yet find themselves, for the first time ever, in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Spain started out the tournament poorly, losing to Switzerland 0-1.

They have recovered nicely from this shocking defeat over the last three games.

First, they experienced a 2-0 win over Honduras and a 2-1 victory over Chile in the final two group games.

Then, their round of 16 win over Portugal was their most difficult test to date, and they handled it well, winning 1-0.

"It was one of my best goals because it got us through to the next round," said the goal scorer, David Villa, afterward.

Spain outshot their rival Portugal 19-9, and they kept Cristiano Ronaldo quiet and mostly frustrated the whole night.

"The match was extremely intense," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said in the press conference. "In the second half, we were better than Portugal. We had greater depth in our play, and we controlled the game very well."

Spain moves on to the quarterfinals for the sixth time. They have only advanced past the quarters once, and have never won football's most prestigious award.

Spain joins Germany and the Netherlands as the only three European teams in the round of eight.

This is the fewest number for Europe ever in the World Cup Quarterfinals.

For Paraguay, one of the biggest challenges that faces them moving forward, in taking on heavily-favored Spain, will be to forget the historic achievement and concentrate on the task at hand.

"Obviously we are having a party, we're celebrating together with the rest of the people of Paraguay,'' coach Gerardo Martino said after the win over Japan. "I can imagine the happiness of the people there, and of course let them enjoy it.

"I've seen the players make a huge effort. It was a very close match and of course now we celebrate the fact we're in the quarter-finals.''

The goal for Paraguay: Limit the chances and, hopefully, the goals by Spain. They must hope for another scoreless draw or perhaps 1-1.

Spain will rely on Sergio Busquets directing play from midfield. In the game with Portugal he was brilliant, completing an incredible 97 of 102 passes.

In fact, as a team, Spain is passing the ball at this World Cup at a 88.6 percent accuracy, as of now, the fourth highest in World Cup since 1966. This helped them to hold the ball for 61 percent of the time against Portugal.

Paraguay must then control and limit the quality touches of one David Villa. He is in top form, to say the least. His four goals are tied for the tournament lead with Robert Vittek and Gonzalo Higuain.

Paraguay's midfielder Cristian Riveros may be given the duty of shutting down Villa. But if you shut down Villa, does that give free run to Xavi?

Paraguay will rely on a long range attack with Roque Santa Cruz. Outside of set pieces, this will be their best chance to score.

If Spain can score an early goal, it may spell the end to any chances the South American team has. Paraguay must stay even or somehow get a lead themselves.

A tall task indeed, but Spain is beatable. Just ask the Swiss.

Prediction: Spain 2-0.