world cup

Finally, Some Penalty Kicks!

Ah, the penalty kick: Soccer’s version of the Home Run Derby. (Imagine Game 7 of the World Series settled by a Home Run Derby. Shiver.) Anyway, Japan and Paraguay were scoreless for 120 minutes, so, on the last day of the Round of 16, we finally got one. (Side note: We always find it funny when the goalkeeper guesses wrong on a penalty kick. Basically, you’re just watching a man dive aimlessly into the ground.) As usual, almost everybody hit theirs, but Yuichi Komano, a veteran defender for Japan who had never scored a goal in his international career, hit the top of the crossbar, and Paraguay won 5–3 to advance to the quarterfinals. They’ll play the winner of this afternoon’s Spain-Portugal matchup, on Saturday at 2:30 Eastern. The South American teams, man, they just can’t lose.

Finally, Some Penalty Kicks!