Paraguay ponder coach switch after england rout

Wednesday’s 4-0 hammering by England again suggested that Paraguayan football directors have done it again, this time by firing coach Sergio Markarian, the man who guided them through the qualifiers.

Markarian was a father figure to most of the players, many of them having played under him in Paraguay’s Olympic team at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, and was credited with reviving the sport in the small, landlocked nation.

But Markarian, whose dismissal in November was blamed by commentators on politics within the Paraguayan Football Assocation (APF), has been replaced by an outsider, veteran Italian coach Cesare Maldini, with no previous experience of South American football.

Paraguay have yet to win a game under Maldini and on Wednesday were unrecognisable from the team which twice held Argentina to draws in the World Cup qualifiers and beat Brazil, all under Markarian.

The daily ABC Color described their meek capitulation as a”thundering defeat” and former Paraguay striker Julio Cesar Romero — who played in the team which reached the second round of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico — said he had feared failure from the outset. And now Maldini’s days may be numbered.

Paraguay, who reached the second round of the World Cup four years ago, were the only one of South America’s five World Cup finalists to lose on Wednesday.

Alex Ferguson puts his money on Italy

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson does not think England will reach the World Cup semi-finals and is tipping Italy to win the tournament. The Scotsman fears England will struggle to qualify from their first-round group of Argentina, Sweden and Nigeria and thinks coach Sven-Goran Eriksson lacks a young midfielder likely to make an impact at the tournament. “I’d have to say the England group is very difficult. Aside from Argentina, Nigeria are not easy opponents. And Sweden, of course, also have a great record.” Feruson is backing Italy to win the World Cup, with France, Argentina and Spain also making the last four.

Pessotto rulled out of finals with injury

Juventus’ Italian international midfielder Gianluca Pessotto will miss the World Cup after tearing a knee ligament during Italy’s pre-World Cup friendly match against Uruguay on Wednesday. Pessotto is expected to be out of action for up to six months. The 31-year-old player hobbled off seven minutes into the game after clashing with Uruguayan midfielder Gustavo Verela. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. Pessotto will miss third-placed Juventus’ three remaining Serie A league games and the World Cup, which starts on May 31.