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Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago will only fight for victory in tournament terms in the match - only the small Caribbean Sea Islands national team - Paraguayans have already lost all hopes of reaching the quarterfinals, so these matches are a matter of honor for the ambitious South Americans.
Paraguay - Trinidad and Tobago Time: 22:00 (Lithuanian time), 23:55 video recording on LTV Location: Fritz Walter Stadium, Kaiserslautern (46 thousand spectators) Referee: Roberto Rosseti (Italy)
Attire Paraguay: blue shorts, blue jerseys. Trinidad and Tobago: white shorts, white jerseys.
Predictions While Trinidad and Tobago have much more motivation to fight, Paraguay's team is considered the favorite to win. It's no surprise, as even though Trinidad's footballers need a victory, in the two matches they have played so far, they have barely threatened the opponents' goal and haven't scored a single goal. The key to success for these teams is ironclad defense.
If Trinidad and Tobago were to produce another miracle and advance to the next stage, they would face either Germany or Ecuador.
Mathematics If Sweden loses to England, and Trinidad and Tobago celebrate a victory against Paraguay, they will head to the knockout stage if they have a better goal difference than the Swedes. The small team of the Caribbean Islands would progress.
For Anibal Ruiz's Paraguay national team, these matches are only a matter of honor.
Second match Trinidad and Tobago 0 - 2 England Although the English secured what seemed like a convincing victory, these matches were even tougher for them than against Paraguay. In the first 82 minutes, Sven-Goran Eriksson's players failed to prove their superiority and even struggled to take control.
Moreover, towards the end of the first half, Trinidad had a great chance to break through, but John Terry cleared the ball shot by Stern John from an open goal at the last moment.
Finally, in the 83rd minute, the English achieved their goal - Peter Crouch, jumping higher than a defender, grabbed the ball by the hair, narrowly avoiding the goal, and reluctantly sent the ball into the net. From that moment, the representatives of the American continent lost hope of achieving points and allowed Steven Gerrard to double the score in the last minute with an impressive long-range shot.
Trinidad and Tobago team strategist Leo Beenhakker was not very happy after the match: "I am proud of the efforts of the players, but, of course, we are disappointed. My men played fiercely and passionately. That is the only way we can play football.
"It was tough to watch us miss the first goal. As time passes and the game nears its end, hopes of achieving something grow. When the opponents scored, we lost our heads, so I'm not surprised they scored a second time.
"The English dominated the match and deserved to win. I wish them luck in the upcoming matches."
"We worked hard, but at the end of the game, we lacked a bit of luck," said Trinidad's forward Stern John. "We have proved that we deserve to be here, and I hope we surprised some people.
Sweden 1 - 0 Paraguay Paraguay did not have luck in this match. Although the field was a battleground, Freddie Ljungberg scored the decisive goal in the penultimate minute, not only ensuring victory but also ending Paraguay's World Cup journey after the first stage.
However, it is worth acknowledging that the Swedes attacked more and have a reason to claim that they deserved to win. This was acknowledged at the press conference by the national team strategists.
However, the victory did not come without losses - in the first half, the team's leader Zlatan Ibrahimovic was substituted. The forward suffered an injury and will be unable to play for a while.
"This is the World Cup, so losing hurts," said A. Ruiz after the match. "It hurts me, it hurts the players, but that's life. Sometimes you don't achieve everything you try. There's no use complaining. However painful it is, congratulations to the victors."
Facts Trinidad and Tobago The national team of the Caribbean Islands was the first of six debutants in this championship to score a point. They managed to do so in the match against Sweden. However, the national team has not yet scored a single goal.
In this match, Avery John should already be playing after missing the second match due to a red card. He will replace Cyd Gray, who is injured.
If Trinidad and Tobago do not win, national team coach L. Beenhakker will become the only coach who has failed to win in any of the seven matches in the World Cup. In 1990, he managed to secure three draws and suffered one defeat with the Dutch national team.
Finally, the main goalkeeper of the national team, Kelvin Jack, should return to the starting lineup. However, it is unclear whether he will be able to replace the reliable Shaka Hislop.
Paraguay Paraguay last failed to reach the second stage of the World Cup tournament in 1958. The last three times they managed to reach the quarterfinals.
In Germany, Paraguay has not scored a goal yet and has lost three matches in a row, including the 2002 championship. The last time the Paraguayans experienced the joy of victory was in 2002 when they defeated Slovenia 3-1.
Jose Montiel could become the youngest player from this country to participate in the World Cup. On the day of this match, he will be 18 years and 93 days old. Currently, the record belongs to Delfin Benitez Caceres, who made his debut against the USA in 1930 when he was 19 years and 266 days old.
Defender Carlos Bonet and goalkeeper Justo Villar will not play due to injuries. They will be replaced by Julio Dos Santos and Aldo Bobadilla, respectively.
Previous meetings Both teams have met twice before, in friendly matches. These took place on March 19 and 22, 1989, and both matches ended peacefully - 2-2 and 1-1.
Thoughts before the match A. Ruiz: "It is a great pity that we lost the first two matches after a fierce battle. The players have no reason to blame themselves. Now we need to focus and play as best as possible to win against Trinidad and Tobago."
Captain of the Trinidad and Tobago team Dwight Yorke: "We are more than happy to be part of history. We are from a small country, but we have done a great job.
"I am sure that England will defeat Sweden, and we need to do our part of the job - defeat Paraguay. The most important thing is that we still have a chance."
Goalkeeper Shaka Hislop: "Before the tournament, everyone wrote us off, but we have proven that we should be taken very seriously."
Predicted lineups Paraguay (4-4-2): 22-Aldo Bobadilla; 21-Denis Caniza, 5-Julio Cesar Caceres, 4-Carlos Gamarra, 3-Delio Toledo; 19-Julio Dos Santos, 10-Roberto Acuna, 13-Carlos Paredes, 16-Cristian Riveros; 9-Roque Santa Cruz, 18-Nelson Haedo Valdez. Coach: Anibal Ruiz
Trinidad and Tobago (4-4-2): 1-Shaka Hislop; 6-Dennis Lawrence, 5-Brent Sancho, 11-Carlos Edwards, 3-Avery John; 9-Atlis Whitley, 7-Chris Birchall, 18-Densill Theobald, 15-Kenwyne Jones; 14-Stern John, 19-Dwight Yorke. Coach: Leo Beenhakker
