Goat of the day
Yuichi Komano
The real goat in the lifeless draw and penalty-kick shootout between Japan and Paraguay was every single member of both teams, who produced the most boring match of the World Cup so far. But Komano clinched the upstart Asian side’s exit when his penalty kick attempt boomed off the crossbar and into soccer oblivion. The upside is that the Paraguayans are left to face the Spaniards in the quarterfinals, where they likely will bow out of the tournament.
Goal of the day
David Villa, Spain
Repeat it with us: The Spanish word of the day is “tiki-taka,” which is the elaborate one-touch passing that Spain used to capture the 2008 European Championship and could make it nearly unbeatable in South Africa. Villa was the beneficiary in the highly-anticipated round of 16 clash with Iberian roommate Portugal, finding himself on the end of Xavi’s backheel, which came courtesy of an outside-of-the-boot entry pass from Andres Iniesta. That’s pure magic you won’t find in a pocket travel dictionary.
