Belgium beat Germany and reached the semi-finals first, and the happiest people were not Belgians, but Spaniards, and they were happy because finally this opportunity for revenge was in front of them again.

Originally, the football of the two countries can be said to be unrelated, but in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, Belgium kicked Spain out of the World Cup very unkindly when it had already qualified in advance.

Spain had a chance to get their revenge in the Euro 2008 final, only to lose again at the feet of Digan and Belgium, and now they will face Belgium in the semi-finals if they can get past their opponents in Paraguay.

In the quarter-finals of the World Cup between Spain and Paraguay, almost no one would have thought that Paraguay had a chance to pass this hurdle before the game, but the appearance of one person almost created the biggest upset in the World Cup in South Africa, in the 59th minute of the second half, when the game was still in a stalemate, the referee awarded a penalty.

In the 59th minute, Paraguay won a corner kick when Spanish defender Pique pulled down Cardoso in the box and the referee awarded a penalty.

If Paraguay can convert the penalty, then they can continue with their best defensive tactics and maybe actually knock Spain out of the World Cup.

However, Cardoso's penalty was confiscated by Spanish goalkeeper Casillas, and for Spanish hero Casillas, today's scene may remind him of the 2002 World Cup against Ireland.

Eight years ago in South Korea, against Ireland, San Cassie was completely possessed by Goyechea, in the 62nd minute, he saved Hart's penalty kick to the right, and after entering the penalty shootout, Cassie played two penalties in a row from Connally and Kilbani, three saves in a game, so that the World Cup goalkeeper ceremony, also has the name of Casillas.

And today's game, although it is not a classic reproduction of eight years ago, Casillas's steady and ruthless performance when saving the penalty is similar to that of eight years ago.

Cardoso has no problem running in a straight line, but he is sideways with the intention of hitting the arch of the foot to push, and then how to do the hidden action, the slight shaking of the body, for Casillas, who has made 109 appearances in the national team and 385 appearances in La Liga, this is already the strongest signal, when Cardoso has not touched the ball, Casillas has a movement to the left side, and the high striker is not happy to hit the ball, for Casillas, saving the ball is not a matter of holding the handle.

In addition to blocking this penalty, Casillas's performance throughout the game was perfect, and in a game that was almost dragged to a dead end, it took endless patience for a strong team, and "forbearance" seemed to be more important than any aggressive offensive tactics.

Captain St. Cassie plays the role of not a slogan agitator, but a commander who stabilizes the morale of the army in the backfield, he needs calmness and calmness more than anyone else, he needs infinite physical vitality more than anyone else, and he needs more explosive power in a moment.

In addition to the penalty, Casillas also relied on a swift flying save before the end of the game to dismantle a near-stunner goal from Santa Cruz.

Paraguay didn't pose a few real threats to the Spanish team throughout the game, but once the threat came, it was almost fatal, and Spanish fans should be thankful for the presence of Casillas, who gave Spain the last laugh in a game that could be upset, allowing Spain to always maintain a clean sheet, which is also the most reliable guarantee for Spain to dare to launch an overall counterattack in the last moments.

It was Cassie's 109th appearance for his country and he continues to rank second highest in Spain's history, 18 games shy of his predecessor Subisareta.

However, Subisareta played for the country for 13 years and did not help the team win any honors, but because of the mistake against Nigeria in the 98 World Cup, he was burdened with a heavy burden at the time, and Casillas, who left the world championship dream that the Spaniards only dared to dream of, but never realized, is only two games away.

In this game, it was Villa who scored for the Spanish team, but the biggest contributor was undoubtedly the captain Casillas, who saved Paraguay's penalty kick in the 0-0 deadlock of the game, and when he was leading 1-0, saved Barrios and Santa Cruz in the last minute to keep the goal intact.

In an interview after the game, Casillas also said: "We played the best game, it was a tough game, luckily we had a lucky goal, the semi-final against Belgium will not be easy, they have a young team, they have a team that has beaten Mexico and Germany in a row, they beat us two years ago to win the European title, but everything is history, we will not have a mental burden against Belgium, I hope in the semi-finals. There will be no repeat of the scene at the European Championships. ”

Casillas tried to protect the team's goal and became the hero of the game, the same team coach Bosque is also a great contributor, in the previous game against Portugal, Bosque used the high point of Llorent, and pry open Portugal's "teeth", but today against Paraguay, Bosque did not sacrifice Llorente's trick again, but changed another substitution strategy, Fabregas and Pedro have been ordered to play, if you take into account Fabregas's Barcelona background, this is a pure Barcelona-style substitution, Bosque's flexible workaround, It is also the main factor that Spain has been unhindered since the first game of the group stage.

Bosque knows very well that when the World Cup hits this, the best way for the Spanish national team to go is to take the Barcelona style as the king.

Today's game changes, the focus was on Pedro, who was replaced by Xavi. Alonso, with Marchena in the middle, it was enough for Bosque to let Spain be dragged to the penalty shootout by Paraguay, because at that point, the technical level of the team simply did not work.

Pedro is a reproduction of a local Barcelona squad from last season, with Pedro playing his left foot on the right, Andres Iniesta playing on the left, and Xavi directing in the middle.

Pedro felt good on the right after coming on, Villa's goal came from Pedro's lightning cut into the post, and before the end of the game, Pedro's cross from the right almost helped Villa score twice, and it must be admitted that it was a very beautiful substitution.

After Pedro's appearance, it is also a blessing for Xavi and Iniesta, Pedro, who has grown at a rocket-like speed in the last two seasons, has been very accustomed to the fast pace of Xavi and Iniesta, and the tacit understanding between the three is also unique in the offensive combination of local players.

Fans would certainly like to see this kind of Barça-style attack, with a sudden increase in tempo and a swift drive through precise passes, despite the absence of Messi, a triad that is enough to find a gap in the Paraguayan defence.

There is also a rumor that Belgium will transfer to Barcelona next season, and his feeling is completely in line with the pace of Iniesta and Xavi, and the two knockout games wiped out the opponent with one goal.

As for Cesc Fabregas, it was difficult to say anything about this game, and his replacement of Torres was a very unique substitution, and Bosque probably wanted Fabregas to play like he was playing as an attacking defender at Arsenal.

But this errand is obviously not so easy to do, Cesc Fabregas's Barcelona identity is quite far away from now, and there is no feeling for it.

Xavi does not use Fabre as a delivery station for the ball, but Xiaofa is very flexible, he knows how flexible Barcelona's combination is, and in the end it is to solve the battle in the middle, so he tries to intersperse more in the middle and use his own understanding to integrate into Barcelona's tactics.

Maybe this ball made Bosque figure out a truth, if you can't break the deadlock, or if you want to reverse the situation, you must not hesitate to remove some non-Barcelona factors, concentrate on playing the fast passing and penetration of the group that the Barcelona people are very good at, and then think about Pique and Puyol in the back, the entire Spanish team, that is, to be stable at the back, to see Barcelona, to attack sharply, you have to look at Barcelona.

If the exact position of Cesc Fabregas can be solved, I believe that the Spanish team, which is moving closer to the Barcelona style without hesitation, will only play better and better in the subsequent games.

After the game, Bosque also explained his substitution: "Today's game against Paraguay is the toughest opponent we have faced since the start of the game, we have never felt as difficult to control the ball as today, the substitutions in the second half are to make the players feel fresh, we have problems with the ball, bringing in Cesc Fabregas can give us an extra midfielder, make the ball run more smoothly, and put Pedro on the pitch to enhance the depth of the team's attack." ”

The effect was very obvious, and Bosque's two substitutions really played a magical role in putting the finishing touch.

The Spaniards who won can continue to play their role as revenge legionmen looking forward to the semi-final against Belgium, and Paraguay will not be discouraged after the defeat because they have been proud enough.

Some fans may be glad that the ugly Paraguayans have finally ended their trip to South Africa, but compared to their South American brother Brazil, who were out of the game before them, the Paraguayans can say goodbye to South Africa with their heads held high and proud.

In the last quarter-match of this World Cup, the Paraguayans completed a beautiful game, facing the strong European champions Spain, the underdog Paraguay team through very targeted tactics, and the Spaniards started to play around.

Despite losing to Spain, Paraguay have shown with their performances that it is no luck that they are in the quarter-finals.

On the other hand, the Brazilian team, which was eliminated in the quarterfinals before this, only played a good half of the game, and then used an inexplicable performance, and the way of losing and losing with red cards and own-goals, was reversed by the Netherlands.

Compared to Brazil, Paraguay's performance was definitely eye-catching, and the Paraguayans' tactics were clearly effective in restraining Spain's performance, and even reminded the Spaniards of the nightmare of losing to Switzerland in their first game.

In fact, this 1:0 is not boring!

For neutral fans, watching the game naturally likes to score as many goals as possible, and 0:0 or even 1:0 games are often synonymous with dullness or boredom in people's impressions.

However, in the match between Paraguay and Spain, although the result was only 1:0, it definitely did not have anything to do with the word boring.

The tension of the whole game, and the dramatic ups and downs of the game, are enough to send any fan into a frenzy and eclipse any Hollywood blockbuster.

After the game, coach Martino appeared calm and a little turbulent, answering questions from reporters, he said: "We played very hard in this game, we just didn't have a good day, today is not destined to be a good day for us, in the dressing room I comforted my players, I am very grateful to them, I have nothing to say about it, I am proud of them." ”

Paraguay did not make it to the semi-finals, but the quarter-finals were already the best World Cup record for the South American team, and after the game, the president of Paraguay congratulated the national team, saying that the players were proud of their performance and would award medals to all members of the national team.

"The joy and dignity we get from competing is not available anywhere in the world. We all hoped for the team to win further, but in the end it didn't come true, and the players shed their last drop of sweat for victory at the World Cup, and they are already champions in the eyes of the Paraguayan people. ”

Now the four quarterfinals have come to an end, the semi-finals have been born, three European teams plus a South American team, such a pattern is something that people could not have imagined before, perhaps from this competition, the division of world football will change accordingly, it has always been the protagonist of South American football before, and this time it may be the turn of the Europeans.

As for Asia and Africa, after the quarterfinals, they have been completely wiped out, and after playing soy sauce, they all went home to sleep.

The next two semi-finals are the Netherlands against Argentina and Belgium against Spain.

Both matches were the subject of much conversation, with the Netherlands and Argentina having played each other at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, while Belgium and Spain have more to say.