Spain made sure of top spot in Group F with a comfortable 4-1 victory in the Gimnasio Nilson Nelsen in Brasilia on Tuesday afternoon.

The current world champions were on form from the off and took the lead in the fourth minute when Alvaro capitalised on a defensive error. From then on Spain appeared to be determined to play keep-ball, limiting Paraguay to a handful of opportunities, but also creating few of their own.

Two minutes after the restart it was effectively game over when Fernando scored. Fabio Alcaraz's 34th minute penalty offered Paraguay some brief hope, but this was soon extinguished when Fernandao completed a second half hat-trick with goals in the 37th and 38th minutes respectively.

Spain now meet Italy in the semi-finals, just as they did in continental competition last year and at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in 2004.

A last-gasp goal from Vladislav Shayakhmetov gave Russia a 5-4 win over Paraguay at the Gimnasio Nilson Nelsen in a topsy turvy encounter.

It was a game dominated by two hat-tricks. Pula thought that he may have sealed the points for Russia when he wrapped up his treble in the 35th minute and Fabio Alcaraz may have thought that he had earned his side a share of the spoils with a 39th minute goal, but in the end it was Shayakhmetov's late, late strike which decided the game's fate.

It was the Europeans who made the brightest start, going 2-0 up inside the opening 19 minutes. Pula put his side ahead in the eighth minute and Shayakhmetov doubling his side advantage 11 minutes later.

But Paraguay came back strongly hitting three goals without reply, firstly through a Jose Rotella penalty and then through Alcaraz.

Pula levelled matters and then put his side ahead before Alcaraz made it 4-4. But with half a second on the clock, Shayakhmetov hit the winner.

Fabio Alcaraz scored his second goal of the match in the 39th minute to salvage Paraguay a 3-3 draw with Argentina in their opening second-round game.

The Paraguayans enjoyed a 2-0 lead in the first half, before their opponents stormed back and went in front when Matias Lucuix scored in the 36th minute. Alcaraz managed to place his equaliser past Javier Guisande because the goalkeeper was screened by a player standing in front of him.

Paraguay, who relied on counter attacks while concentrating on defence, grabbed a 2-0 advantage by the 14th minute in a hard-fought opening half. Alcaraz struck for the Paraguayans with the game two minutes old, putting away his first goal from the middle of the box following a nice pass from Robson Fernandez. Rene Villalba took advantage of his speed in the 14th minute, beating Hernan Garcias and then Guisande.

Only three minutes later, the Argentinians sliced the lead in half. Esteban Gonzalez's shot hit the goal post, and Sebastian Corazza slotted home the rebound. After both keepers made a pair of vital saves, Argentina levelled the scores in the 35th minute. Esteban Gonzalez won possession, took on two opponents and fired home.

Only a minute later, Lucuix struck with a hard shot, before Alcaraz pulled off his 11th-hour heroics.
 

Javier Guisande, Argentina player
We wanted to win, of course, but drawing is better than losing. All eight remaining teams are very strong. There's hardly any difference between the two groups. In principle, both are equally difficult.

Ruben Subeldia, Paraguay coach
We played well in the first half but struggled after the break. We were playing against a very solid team. We’ll work on rectifying the mistakes we made and start focusing on the next game
Second round

Paraguay - Argentina

3:3 (2:1)

Match	Date	Venue / Stadium	Time	Attendance
43	11 October 2008	Brasilia / Gimnasio Nilson Nelson	10:30	5961

Paraguay's 4-2 surprise victory over Italy saw them jump from third at the start of play to top of Group B and eliminate the Portugal in the process.

The first half was a nervy encounter with both teams trying not to commit any mistakes and it took some good approach play from the Italians to break the deadlock. Sergio Zanetti combined well with Cleyton Baptistella to put his side ahead in the seventh minute.

Paraguay gradually got more into the game and after several attempts, they drew level when Jose Rotella fired a shot past Alexandre Feller. But parity lasted just 46 seconds when Patrick Nora's drive rebounded off the crossbar and onto the unfortunate Jose Luis Santander who was powerless to stop the ball bouncing into the net.

Paraguay's equaliser came just a minute and seven seconds in the second half when Fabio Alcaraz kept his cool and with the added momentum, the South Americans piled on the pressure and score again through Rene Villalba.

With the game won, they poured more salt into Italy's wounds when Rotella scored his second of the match. With the goal difference in the matches between Italy, Paraguay and Portugal, the Italians clinched second place to qualify for the next round, but Portugal miss out.

Sandro Zanetti, Italy player
Unfortunately we were well below our best today and we lost. At least we're through and we can now start to think about the next phase. We weren't planning to come across Brazil so early but if you want to be champions of the world, you've got to beat all your opponents.

Jose Rotella, Paraguay player
We knew it was going to be that tough but thanks to God our hard work has been rewarded with a place in the next round. We always had our eyes on first place in the section and we're extremely happy to have achieved it. It doesn't matter who we get now. We're not scared of anyone.

Paraguay moved into a dead heat with Portugal for second place in Group B of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008 with an 8-0 win over Thailand on Monday in Rio.

Rene Villalba was the hero for the South Americans. After opening the scoring in the 5th minute, he added two more goals in the 12th minute (one from the spot) to seal a first-half hat trick.

The Italy-based striker and veteran of the last FIFA futsal finals made it 4-0 just four minutes into the second half, making it plainly obvious that the Thai defence simply had no way of handling the attacking threat he posed. Villalba then turned provider for Paraguay's fifth goal, setting the table for Jara who slammed home in the 27th minute.

Rene's older brother, Walter, sparked another moment of joy for the Villalba family with a goal in the 31st minute before Roman added a pair in the dying moments to seal the 8-0 rout.

Paraguay are now on six points, tied with Portugal for second place in Group B behind Italy.

Portugal opened their Brazil 2008 campaign with a hard-fought win over Paraguay, edging the South Americans by the odd goal in five.

Once again, the crowd at Rio's Maracanazhino arena were treated to a thrilling encounter as these evenly-matched Group B rivals contested an intense and unpredictable match from the off. Paraguay, with confidence soaring after their 5-0 victory over USA, monopolised the early possession, but couldn't find a way through despite peppering Joao Bendito's goal with shots.

Portugal opted for a more direct approach, and it was one which quickly paid dividends in the shape of a slick opener, Pedro Costa rounding off a swift counter-attack. Paraguay, however, continued to press, and it was no more than they deserved when Jose Rotella restored parity, turning in from the left to score.

This merely proved a signal for intensity and often ferocity of the play to move up a notch, although it was a moment of genuine beauty that handed Portugal their second goal. Ricardinho and Costa both showed superb skill to combine in the creation of the easiest imaginable chance for the grateful Arnaldo.

Yet Paraguay are nothing if not tenacious and they fought back once again, capitalising on a slip in the Europeans' defence to equalise for a second time through Rene Villalba. At this stage, with the clock ticking down, one suspected that the next goal could settle matters, and it was Arnaldo who provided the decisive moment of inspiration. With the Paraguay defence tiring, he ghosted inside from the right and drove the ball home left-footed to seal the points and spark jubilant scenes on the Portuguese bench.

Paraguay vs Portugal	Paraguay vs Portugal