LiveBlog: Paraguay-Trinidad and Tobago

Paraguay closes the door on the Soca Warriors’ dreams with a solid victory. Both teams are out of the Would Cup. You can read the play-by-play below and leave your comments on the match.

Live: Paraguay 2-0 Trinidad and Tobago

Full time That is it. Paraguay comes away with a win to close out their appearance in the World Cup. The magic is over for Trinidad and Tobago which had a very respectable tournament in their World Cup debut. Thanks for joining me for the liveblog. We’ll do this again tomorrow so stop by then.

90:00 Trinidad playing to get a goal, they have gone 270 minutes without scoring.

88:56 It is looking like Group B will end 1. England 2. Sweden 3. Paraguay 4. Trinidad and Tobago. This might be the only group I predicted right.

87:47 Paulo Da Silva on for Paraguay and Caniza out. Anibal Ruiz taking no chances. His team has played well tonight and comes away with three earned points.

86:45 Cuveas was sprung free by a pass from Santa Cruz and the keeper Jack guessed the wrong way. Tough way to end the Soca Warriors run at the 2006 World Cup.

85:00 GOALLLLLL!!! Cuevas scores for Paraguay and that should do it.

84:23 I think if you said T&T would still be alive in the third game of the tournament before it started most people would have laughed. Hats off for their performance against England and Sweden.

83:45 With Trinidad’s departure and Costa Rica’s exit, it is up to the United States and Mexico to carry the flag for CONCACAF.

82:34 Trinidad fans looking rather glum in the stands. Their team has given them a lot to be proud of but tonight they are coming up on the short end of the stick.

80:53 England scores to go up 2-1. Too bad Trinidad has not been able to come out on top of this one because Sweden is making it possible.

79:45 Trinidad has had no shortage of crosses that just haven’t hit the mark. The second half has belonged to the Soca Warriors but like me in a bar, they just can’t score.

78:45 Paraguay content on a one goal win. They have their bags packed and are ready to take a vacation in 12 minutes..

76:56 Latapy with a blast that goes high and long. The old man could have done better but we’ll forgive him as part of a lifetime’s achievement award.

75:47 Trinidad continues to try to come up with something. They’ve used their three subs and I don’t think FIFA will let them add a 12th player to help out in the attack.

73:45 Trinidad and Tobago still fighting forward. They haven’t given up but they also haven’t figured out a way to put the ball in between the posts, which is kind of the object of all this.

72:30 Paraguay has played a very effective game tonight. They haven’t been flashy but they have gotten the job done. It is worth noting they still haven’t registered a goal with the only score in this game coming from a Sancho own goal.

70:34 Birchall with a blast from straight on and it is way too high. Should have done better than that. He is another player who hasn’t done much tonight.

70:12 Paraguay’s keeper doesn’t take the goal kicks. That reminds me of when I was a little kid and we used to do that.

68:39 Cuevas with a shot that most of the world will never see because they are watching Rooney pissed off on the England bench.

67:45 Yorke with a free kick into the box but it doesn’t happen. That has beent he story of tonight for the Soca Warriors. It just hasn’t happened the way they wanted it to.

65:56 Valdez and his wonder hair off, Nelson Cuevas is on. Russel Latapy on for Whitley as T&T hopes the old man can pull out some magic.

65:23 Trinidad and Tobago needs to be a little more desperate. It doesn’t matter if you lose by a goal or three but you need to try to score.

63:56 Edwards working really hard to create opportunities that just don’t exist. T&T realizes that time is running out and they need to push forward or go home.

63:03 Paraguay peppering the Trinidad goal and Jack keeps on denying them. Jack has had a nice game in place of Hislop. T&T can’t blame their goalkeeping this World Cup. A lack of goals, however…

61:45 Trinidad with a near cross but the Paraguay keeper gets his hands on it. Close, but still not there. Trinidad is one pass away in this game. We all can relate to that feeling, can’t we?

60:30 Public service announcement: We’ll be here all week. Please stop by again. Your comments are nice and your readership appreciated. If anyone can send some ice to Berlin ASAP my fingers could use some.

58:45 Still 1-1 in the other game. A Sweden win or draw eliminates T&T but so does goal differential and so does a loss. Everything going against the Soca Warriors at the moment.

57:12 Paraguay with the corner kick and Paeredes directs it wide. The camerman is focusing on the ball a lot this game. They have special balls for each game. Those will sell for a lot on Ebay some day.

56:15 Valdez continues to get his long locks on the ball. He has excellent hair. Credit to Paraguay for the forwards’ hygeine.

55:12 Paraguay showing a little effort with Paredes firing a shot that is stopped by Jack.

54:15 Stern John hasn’t shown up tonight. If I can liveblog back-to-back games the least he can do is come out for the biggest game of his country’s history.

53:15 I read before the World Cup started that this game would be the least watched in the tournament because it is going head-to-head with England and because it is the late game. So far the people who didn’t tune in haven’t missed a lot but still time for that to change.

51:45 Anibal Ruiz looking tan and more like Yoda by the minute on the Paraguay bench. He is a good coach. I hope he survives after this tournament.

50:12 Trinidad with a free kick that leads to scrum in the box and it is blown dead by the referee. So far the ref has called a decent game in my opinion but my mind is a mush trying to follow all this action.

49:02 Trinidad passing the ball in the offensive ends. Edwards creating on the right side by the final touch just isn’t there. Starting to see more effort and heart from the Soca Warriors.

47:56 The goal in the Sweden game was the 2,000th in World Cup history. Whitley called for a yellow card.

46:56 Trinidad tries to come back to the other end but the cross is just off the mark. It is going to take a lot of goals and a lot of luck at this point.

45:56 Will Trinidad come up with an answer for its goal scoring woes? Two and a half games and still no goal. Meanwhile Sweden scores so things are looking bleak for the Soca Warriors.

45:23 No changes for either team as T&T made two subs in the first half and only has one left.

45:01 We’re underway in the second half with Trinidad and Tobago hoping to pull off a miracle to stay alive in the competition. Paraguay played a good first half and will be eager to end their World Cup on a positive note. Thanks for joining me and remember we are also liveblogging the England-Sweden game at the same time. Right now T&T is -3 on goals and Sweden is even so the Soca Warriors need to score some goals and hope that England can do the same. By the way, the next goal scored will be the 2000th in World Cup history.

Halftime After 45 minutes Paraguay is up a goal. Paraguay had the better and more frequent opportunities in the opening stanza. Trinidad has looked like a team that realizes its World Cup chances are slipping away. I’m off to have another beer. Please join me again for the second half. Go ahead and leave your comments about the first half and what you expect to happen in the next 45 minutes.

45:00 Valdez yet again with a header. This one is on goal and Jack saves it. Trinidad saves another one on the line. Theobald doing the saving there.

44:35 The Paraguay midfield is controlling the game at this point. They are breaking down the Soca Warriors’ attack and creating chances of their own. Sancho shown a yellow card for an elbow. Beenhakker none too pleased with the call.

43:35 Someone on Trinidad needs to step up. They are playing like a defeated team and this game is far from over.

41:47 Roque Santa Cruz almost puts one in. How does he get his teeth so white? He must brush after every meal.

41:23 The crowd in Kaiserslautern sounds dead. The Trini supporters are having a hard time mustering up much given the tough position their team is in. England still leads Sweden 1-0.

39:42 Evans Wise coming on for Glen whose World Cup has likely come to an end with an injury.

38:15 Glen down in quite a bit of pain. He has been the most effective player tonight but that looks like a bad injury. His knee went a direction it was designed to go.

37:34 Paraguay keeping up the pressure. They look like the more desperate team at the moment. Trinidad not looking comfortable as the team that needs to attack. This isn’t their game.

35:31 Goal is called off as Denis Ramón Caniza beat the Trinidad defense but he is called offside. That would have been a fatal blow for the Soca Warriors.

34:45 Paraguay’s attack just seems to be missing one or two in the midfield. They are a decent team but a few parts away from being a threat. They lead posession 55-45%

33:35 Game back to being ragged and without definition. Beenhakker recognizes there is no tomorrow so he put in Jones to join the attack up front. So far it hasn’t worked.

31:46 England scores against Sweden to give T&T a slim bit of life. They need to win and win by a few goals to keep the dream alive.

31:03 Direct kick for the Soca Warriors. Yorke over the ball. Jones on for Avery John as Trinidad goes for offense. The ball is cleared away.

30:02 Lawrence is one tall dude. Didn’t notice that the first couple of games but he is towering over the opposition tonight. Card shown to Paredes.

28:25 Soca Warriors need to find a way to come back. They haven’t been able to crack through the Paraguay defense yet. Beenhakker looking very nervous on the sideline. I imagine most people in T&T are also looking the same way right about now.

26:45 Sancho was also the one who had Crouch climb over him for the goal last game. A difficult pair of plays for a really class guy.

25:34 The shocked look on Sancho’s face says it all. The Soca Warriors have dug themselves a hole. They are losing and -3 in goals while Sweden and England are still scoreless.

24:45 GOALLLL!!! Free kick for Paraguay from far out is driven in low and it is an own goal by Brent Sancho. Tough break as it goes off three heads.

22:45 Things are getting a bit ragged with the play stuck in the middle of the field. These look like two fairly even teams to me. Valdez with another header that flies high.

21:35 It is interesting that the German channel I am watching is not giving any updates of the other game. good thing we have two tvs here. What about where you are watching? Are they updating the England score?

19:56 Paraguay on the attack and it is headed off the mark by Valdez. I expected a bit more from the kid this competition but maybe 2010 will be his year. Lord knows I’ll still be tied to this computer liveblogging then.

19:14 I can only imagine the nervousness in Trinidad and Tobago today. The country is trying to will its team to victory. Thus far they have kept even with the team from South America/

17:45 Can’t quite get a feel for this game. Trinidad is playing decent but Paraguay is equally average. This could be a game decided on a couple of breaks either way.

16:45 Still scoreless in both games. Group B hasn’t exactly seen the goals we have witnessed from Spain’s group.

15:54 Yorke swings in the free kick and it is punched away by the keeper. Yorke is still dangerous on set pieces. Paraguay having problems keeping their players standing and alive.

14:56 Dwight Yorke and Peter Crouch both go to the same dentist. Don’t get me wrong, I love both of them but those teeth, oh those teeth.

13:45 I failed math three times so as James in the comments points out neither team has scored for 180+ minutes. I reckon 95% of the world is watching the other game right now. What do you think?

11:56 Free kick to the Soca Warriors and again it is close to going in but this time it is a Paraguay defender who heads it. They need to learn not to do own goals. Corner to Trinidad and it is wasted.

10:56 Magic spray on the field to cure Julio César Cáceres.

10:40 Cornel Glen again causing problems as he is teaming up nicely with Stern John. You would think with a name like Stern he would be a mean guy but I saw an interview with him and he looks like a good guy.

8:35 Corner kick to Paraguay. Santa Cruz gets his head on it but it flies over the bar. Worth noting that Brent Sancho has not cut his hair despite the treatment it go from Peter Crouch last game.

7:25 Both teams have had good chances to start but neither have scored. Such is the story of their World Cup experiences with both sides going more than 120 minutes without finding the net. I keep on spilling my beer so I can’t find my mouth. We all have issues.

6:35 T&T on the attack again with Glen causing some danger out there. I don’t know why I keep adding an extra “n” to his name. At 6′7″ Dennis Lawrence is a Crouch in disguise.

4:23 Yorke with a fee kick that is almost headed in but the Paraguay keeper is up to the challenge. Cornel Glenn with that header/

3:01 Paraguay with another free kick as they come out the more aggressive of the two teams. It goes out of bounds and we get a shot of Anibal Ruiz on the sideline. He is Yoda’s long lost cousin.

1:35 Paraguay in swinger almost goes in but Jack saves it at the last moment. Wow, not a good way to start for the Soca Warriors.

:56 Kelvin Jack with the boot out of bounds. Not sure why you would switch keepers at this point especially since Hislop has been so good. Jack is capable but still…

:023 The England game started a couple minutes before this one so there goes that coordination effort.

Kickoff We are underway in Kaiserslautern with a Group B showdown between Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago. T&T needs to win and get some help from England to stay alive. Paraguay is out to have some fun and to end their tournament on a good note. Thanks for joining me. As always, your comments are welcome. Keep them clean, have fun and love one another as we watch some World Cup football.

4 minute countdown: T&T’s anthem is played. The players are singing and looking like this is their biggest game ever. Six Soca Warriors start the game with yellow cards. There is no tomorrow if they don’t win so they will start even with cards.

5 minute countdown: The Paraguay anthem is played. The players look very relaxed like they have nothing to lose.

6 minute countdown: Paraguay wearing its blue kits and T&T in white. I prefer the other kits for both side. Candy Canes and red is how it should be, but I guess that would be confusing.

7 minute countdown: The teams are lined up in the tunnel. The Trini fans are dancing in the stands. The fans from Paraguay are having a grand old time. The neutral fans are just happy to be at the World Cup. I’m happy to be liveblogging my second game today. Special thank you to the fine people who invented beer.

9 minute countdown: Good eyes from marlboroman in the comments. Kelvin Jack is indeed listed as the starter instead of Shaka Hislop. Interesting decision since Hislop has been outstanding.

10 minute countdown: These simultaneous games sure are exciting but they are difficult to follow. I’ll be watching the England game out of the corner of my eye as I am sure many Trinidad and Tobago fans will also.

15 minute countdown: Who will be the hero tonight for Trinidad and Tobago? Shaka Hislop has played outstanding in goal. Dwight Yorke has been steady in the midfield. I think Stern John is going to have to step up his game and deliver with a goal or two.

20 minute countdown: The pregame coverage on German television is all about England and Sweden. You would hardly know there is another game being played and that it is an important game at that. Starting lineups:

Paraguay 22 - Aldo Bobadilla (GK), 2 - Jorge Núñez, 4 - Carlos Gamarra (C), 5 - Julio César Cáceres, 8 - Edgar Barreto, 9 - Roque Santa Cruz, 10 - Roberto Acuña, 13 - Carlos Paredes, 18 - Nelson Valdez, 19 - Julio Dos Santos, 21 - Denis Caniza

Trinidad & Tobago 21 - Kelvin Jack (GK), 3 - Avery John, 5 - Brent Sancho, 6 - Dennis Lawrence, 7 - Chris Birchall, 9 - Aurtis Whitley, 11 - Carlos Edwards, 13 - Cornell Glen, 14 - Stern John, 18 - Densill Theobald, 19 - Dwight Yorke (C)

25 minute countdown: Just to give you an idea of the setup we have here in Berlin, we have one game projected large against the wall while the other game is on a 21-inch tv in the corner. Not sure which one the T&T game will be on, but since Chris isn’t around yet to liveblog the England-Sweden game I think I am going to steal the projection tv.

30 minute countdown: Trinidad and Tobago has been one of the more enjoyable teams I have seen. They play hard and even though they might lack some of the talent of their opponents they make up for it with heart. Paraguay just never seemed to get on track this competition, starting with the early own goal against England. Tonight some of their younger players might have the opportunity to shine.

40 minute countdown: The game is being played in Kaiserslautern on a pleasant evening. Weather should not be a factor for either side. Neither of these teams scored a goal in the their first two matches. If the Soca Warriors hope to advance, they’ll need to score and win, while hoping that England beats Sweden. Currently, T&T is a -2 in goals and Sweden is +1.

50 minute countdown: I’m looking forward to this one. Trinidad and Tobago have a chance to make history but it won’t be easy with Paraguay looking to end their World Cup run on a positive note. The sun is setting here in Berlin and the World Cup Blog HQ is all set up so we can liveblog both games at once.

Pregame: Who’s going to win?