BLOEMFONTEIN (Reuters) – Paraguay will not settle for less than topping Group F ahead of world champions Italy following their victory over Slovakia on Sunday, striker Roque Santa Cruz said.

Paraguay drew with Italy in their opening World Cup match and now sit on top of the group with four points, with world champions on two points after a surprise 1-1 draw with New Zealand on Sunday.

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) – Paraguay beat a lacklustre Slovakia 2-0 to move top of Group F on Sunday and close in on a World Cup second round place.

Enrique Vera put the South Americans ahead after 27 minutes and Cristian Riveros grabbed a second four minutes from time in a game of few chances at Free State Stadium.

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) – Paraguay beat a lacklustre Slovakia 2-0 to move top of Group F on Sunday and close in on a World Cup second round place.

Enrique Vera put the South Americans ahead after 27 minutes and Cristian Riveros grabbed a second four minutes from time in a game of few chances at Free State Stadium.

BLOEMFONTEIN (Reuters) – Paraguay see no reason to pay deference to Latin American giants Argentina and Brazil and they know they are carrying the dreams of their small nation with them when they go into battle with Slovakia on Sunday.

Paraguay opened their World Cup Group F campaign by drawing with world champions Italy after showing their mettle on the way to South Africa by beating their two illustrious neighbours in the qualifiers.

BLOEMFONTEIN (Reuters) – Greece can be under no illusions about the task ahead of them despite the elation over their unexpected victory against Nigeria.

The Greeks take on an Argentina side who are in blazing form in their final Group B clash. Even if they can fight for a draw and steal one point, it might not be enough to go through to the second round.

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) – A moment of schoolyard silliness by Nigeria’s Sani Kaita reversed the match dynamic and opened the door for Greece to seal their first ever World Cup finals victory with a 2-1 win in Group B on Thursday.

The result — which also saw Greece’s score their first goals in the World Cup finals — kept alive their chances of progressing to the second round, although they face a surging Argentina in their final group match.

BLOEMFONTEIN (Reuters) – Greece’s players believe they must secure their first ever World Cup finals victory in Thursday’s match against Nigeria or start packing their bags for home.

Both sides need the points in the Group B game in Bloemfontein after losing their opening matches, but Nigeria showed flashes of form in the 1-0 defeat by Argentina while Greek defensive errors handed South Korea a 2-0 victory.

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) – Nigeria are keeping everyone guessing about their plans for the World Cup Group B match with Greece on Thursday, training in seclusion on the Indian Ocean coast since their defeat by Argentina.

Both sides desperately need points from the clash in Bloemfontein’s Free State Stadium to keep alive their hopes of reaching the second round. The omens do not favour the Greeks.

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) – Japan coach Takeshi Okada has maintained a Zen-like calm in the face of a storm of criticism in the build-up to the World Cup.

But he wasted no time in reflecting on Japan’s surprise 1-0 victory over Group E rivals Cameroon on Monday and instead zeroed in on the next game against the Netherlands.

BLOEMFONTEIN (Reuters) – Japan ended a dismal run of results to record their first World Cup victory on foreign soil on Monday with surprise 1-0 Group E victory over one of Africa’s brightest hopes Cameroon at the Free State stadium.

Makeshift striker Keisuke Honda’s 39th minute goal ended a dismal five-match winless run with just one goal scored while Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions proved toothless and skipper Samuel Eto’o had a largely ineffective game.