A tough result for the U.S. and it's not the way they wanted to begin their FIFA Futsal World Cup. With only a day off until their next match against Italy though, Keith Tozer's team will have to put this loss behind them as soon as possible. After all, there are still three games to go and qualification for the next round is still very much a possibility.
40 min - And that's a Final.
39 min - Jeff Richey gives the ball away and
R. Villalaba rolls the ball into the goal from just over halfway line.
38 min - Gazolli gives the ball away and Naumoski tries to capitalize. Gazolli sprawls imself out and makes two saves - the ball just won't go in for the U.S. today.
38 min - the Paraguay goalie wants a piece of the action and he tries to catch Richey out with a lofted effort from a punt.
37 min - Good play between Wiesner, Hamms and Myers, but Osorio makes a vital last ditch tackle.
36 min - Foul called on Paraguay - they have two this half.
34 min - U.S. with lots of possession in this second half but they're struggling to create meaningful chances. Another quick counter from Paraguay off of a giveaway and Richey just tips the ball wide with his fingertips.
33 min - Another save from Richey. U.S. goes up to the other end and Myers plays in Beasley, he scuffs his shot wide of the goal though.
32 min - Stewart with a header that finds Wiesner but his flick back across the goal is just out of reach. The U.S. resets and Stewart tries his luck but the ball drifts high and wide.
30 min - U.S. takes a timeout, the energy of this game is dwindling. The U.S. needs to start something quick.
29 min - U.S. on the attack but its stolen by R. Villalba. He tries an audacious effort from the other end of the court but Richey scrambles back to tip the ball over.
28 min - Myers with a shot wide. From the restart Paraguay goes straight up the field and Richey gets down well to block Roman's effort.
26 min - Farias called for a foul an he's not happy. The U.S. steals the ball off the restart and Beasley earns a corner.
25 min - Now the U.S. has some posession and they try to set up an attack. Nothing doing though.
24 min - The U.S. is trying to get things going here in the second half but Paraguay is playing tough defense. Some passing from Cabral and Beasley almost opens up some space, but Santander breaks up the play.
23 min - Beasley loses the ball and Paraguay counters kick W. Villalba plays the ball to
Chilavert and he slots it home to the far post. 4-0 Paraguay.
22 min - Jacbosen is fouled and the U.S. sets up a dead ball. Cabral standing over it and he hits it to Jacbosen low at the far pos but his flick doesn't come off.
22 min - Paraguay with some good ball movement to open up the 2nd half, but the U.S. hangs tough and wins it back. Jacobsen flicks it by his man and earns a kick in deep in Paraguay territory.
The 2nd Half Kicks off!
HALFTIME - U.S. with it all to do in the 2nd half here. We'll see if Tozer can rally the troops for the final 20 minutes...
20 min - R. Villalaba takes a corner short to
Fernandez who turns inside the area and fires into the roof of the net. Just 11 seconds to go in the half.
20 min - Less than a minute to go now, and Paraguay have the ball. They work an inbounds play to Rotella who turns inside the area. Richey is there to deny him though.
19 min - Roman crushes the ball off the cross bar from a freekick. Pat Morris was booked for the foul there.
18 min - Great ball from Morris to Stewart but his left footed shot is saved by Gazolli. Corner for the U.S....they could sure use a goal before halftime.
17 min - Paraguay counterattacks with devastating effect. W. Villalaba finds
Alcaraz with a slide rule pass and he finishes under Jeff Richey.
2-0 Paraguay15 min - Great defensive cover by Wiesner who comes all the way back to take the ball off Fernandez' feet.
15 min - U.S. finding itself a little bit here - they've had more possession in the past few minutes...
14 min - Paraguay's Rene Villalba goes down in a heap but the referee is not interested. The U.S. counters now and Stewart finds Jacobsen on the right side, his first time shot is saved by Gazolli though.
13 min - Here's a bit more attacking from the U.S. - a nice combination releases Myers but his shot is blocked by a Paraguay defender.
11 min - Save again by Richey. It's all Paraguay right now and the U.S. goalkeeper is doing his part to keep his team in the game.
10 min - Foul on Beasley sets up a dead ball for Paraguay but nothing comes of it.
9 min - Big collision between Beasley, Hammes and a Paraguayan. Referee plays on and Chilavert is in alone. He dallies on the ball too much and Richey picks it up right off his feet. Hammes is a bit shaken up but he's over on the sideline walking around...
9 min - Another good save from Richey who denies Rotella's drive with his chest.
9 min - Shot by Stewart over the goal. The U.S. look a bit stunned after that first goal.
8 min - The numbers have really piled up inside the stadium, looks like a lot of kids, high-schoolers etc have all been recruited to wear blue and white shirts and cheer for the teams.
7 min -
Paraguay opens the scoring. Fernandez cracks a shot that deflects off
Santander and off the post. Santander reacts quickest off the rebound and puts the ball in the net to give his side the lead.
6 min - Great save by Richey who gets down to his right to block a ball with his foot.
6 min - Still scoreless here, Paraguay has just been called for foul number three. Jacobsen tries a shot but it bounces wide.
5 min - Fancy dribbling from Paraguay's Walter Villalba - the crowd enjoyed that.
4 min - Double save from Richey as he denies Fernandez twice at the near post. U.S. with a corner but they can't get a shot off.
3 min - Paraguay now with their first effort, and ts deflected out for a corner kick. USA does well to clear though.
2 min - That's two early fouls on Paraguay and this one is going to be a yellow card to number 9 Fernandez. He took down Stewart from behind there...
1 - min - First foul on Paraguay as Alcaraz takes out Cabral...and from the freekick the U.S. work a nice play to Matt Stewart but his shot is off the post!
And we're underway!
Both teams are huddling up and the captains are now in the center of the field for the coin toss...
Now the Star Spangled Banner...what a moment for our guys...
First the anthem of Paraguay...
There's a much bigger crowd for this game then there was for the previous game (which finished 1-0 to Italy)..Most of the fans have been imported by the LOC - much in the same way fans in China were for the Olympics and Women's World Cup. Nonetheless, they're making a fair bit of noise!
The warmups are over, the flags are out on the field and here come the teams! The U.S. is about to begin its World Cup quest...First the FIFA anthem.
Well, today was certainly a tough one for the team. There's nothing quite like the feeling of preparing so long for something, then not having it go as planned. Sometimes that happens in soccer though, and you just have to look to the next day.
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