Spain earned a trip the World Cup semifinals for the first time in their history after knocking off Paraguay, 1-0, at Ellis Park on Saturday.
David Villa netted the deciding goal—his fifth of the tournament—to ice an entertaining second half in which both teams should have taken the lead after a turgid, languid first half.
Villa thumped home the 82nd minute winner following Andres Iniesta's mazey run through midfield. Iniesta had played the ball centrally to Pedro, whose shot caromed off the post and out to Villa. The recent Barcelona signing also hit the post with his driven effort, but the ball skipped to the opposite post before nuzzling into the net.
Spain will face Germany—who earlier in the day defeated Argentina, 4-0—in a semifinal on Wednesday.
The goal followed an outrageous two-minute span in which the score remained tied at zero despite three penalties being taken.
It began in the 56th minute when Spain's Gerard Pique was cited for dragging down Oscar Cardoza inside the 6-yard box. Cardozo stepped up to take the resulting spot kick, but his low, driven effort was brilliantly saved by Spain 'keeper Iker Casillas.
Casillas immediately launched a breakaway that sent Villa pounding into the Paraguay box. Villa, too, was hauled down, and guilty defender Antolin Alcaraz was lucky not to have seen red as he clearly denied a goalscoring opportunity.
Xabi Alonso was tasked with taking the penalty kick, and though he buried his effort confidently, the referee whistled that it be retaken due to encroachment at the edge of the box. Alonso's second effort, though, was weak, unconvincing and easily saved by Paraguay 'keeper Justo Villar.
Spain were perhaps unlucky not to earn yet another penalty after Cesc Fabregas was bundled to the ground in the melee that followed Villar's save.
The remarkable sequence marked the first time two penalties had been saved in a single World Cup game. It also gave the match a much-needed lift as Spain continued to pressure before Iniesta's moment of brilliance unleashed the scoring sequence.
Paraguay best chance to equalize came in the waning minutes, but goalkeeper Casillas produced a fine double save, first from Lucas Barrios and then the rebounded effort from Roque Santa Cruz.
However, Paraguay should have been ahead late in the first half when Nelson Valdez coolly finished off a deep pass from right midfield, but he was wrongly whistled offside as replays showed he was level with the defender.
Scoring summary:
SPA: Villa, 82nd minute
Starting lineups:
Paraguay: 1-Justo Villar; 2-Dario Veron, 14-Paulo Da Silva, 21-Antolin Alcaraz, 3-Claudio Morel, 8-Edgar Barreto, 11-Jonathan Santana, 15-Victor Caceres, 16-Cristian Riveros, 18-Nelson Valdez, 7-Oscar Cardozo
Spain: 1-Iker Casillas; 15-Sergio Ramos, 3-Gerard Pique, 5-Carles Puyol, 11-Joan Capdevila; 14-Xabi Alonso, 8-Xavi, 6-Andres Iniesta, 16-Sergio Busquets; 9-Fernando Torres, 7-David Villa
Referee: Carlos Batres (Guatemala)
