Paraguay strolled through to the last 16 after they held out to a ‘hassle free' draw against New Zealand in the last round of Group F fixtures at the FIFA World Cup . In a match that had plenty riding on it from a qualification perspective, the two teams dished out a drab affair with neither willing to take on the game by the scruff of the neck. It was particularly surprising from the Kiwis as they needed a win to guarantee themselves a place in the next round. They however, were more worried about conceding goals and were not helped by ‘another shock win' as Slovakia edged out Italy 3-2 in a pulsating encounter at Johannesburg. Paraguay topped the group while the Slovaks finished as runners up. The latter would most likely square up against a very strong Dutch side in the last 16, while Paraguay await the winner of the match between Japan and Denmark later tonight.

The island nation of New Zealand took on the South Americans Paraguay at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane knowing all too well that a win today would have guaranteed them a place in the last 16 - a far cry from all the Pundits and naysayers who had labelled the inexperienced Kiwis as the whipping boys of Group F. Mathematically, the Kiwis could take a draw too in their stride to the last 16. Paraguay, on the other hand were the table toppers - before the start of play - and were everybody's favourites to seal their place in the next round.

Jermaine Defoe proved to be the answer to England's prayers on Wednesday as the Tottenham Hotspur marksman fired home a volley which was enough for England to down Slovenia 1-0 and in the process, seal qualification to the ‘Round of 16' of the the FIFA World Cup. While England thought they had sealed the top position at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, there was a late twist in the tail though, with Landon Donovan getting a winner for the USA in Pretoria, to send them right up to the top and also as a result unlucky Slovenia out of the competition.

What this means is that England, in all probabilities would bump in to Germany in the next round and should they survive that threat, prospects of an ominous appointment with Argentina loom large on the horizon. All this would not matter much at this point though, and as Fabio Capello rightly said, the performance on the night would do good to take away all the fear and make the squad ready for future challenges.

Germany sealed their place in the second round of the FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 victory against Ghana in their final Group D match thanks to Mesut Oezil's stunning second half strike at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. Oezil's brilliant long range shot around the hour mark meant that Germany won their group and face old rivals England in a mouth watering encounter in the last 16. Ghana could also celebrate as despite their defeat they became Africa's first side into the second round as they finished in second place ahead of Australia on goal difference following the Socceroos 2-1 win against Serbia in Nelspruit. The West African side had to wait nervously though as a Serbian equaliser would have meant they would have missed out and the Serbs would have clinched second place. But as news of the final whistle came through from Nelspruit and the Serbs failed to equalise, the Black Stars celebrated knowing they will be flying the flag for Africa when they take on the USA in the round of 16.

Going into this crucial encounter Ghana knew they would be the first and probably only African side at this edition of the FIFA World Cup to make it through to the second round if they could avoid defeat. Germany meanwhile needed to win to ensure they would take their customary position into the later stages of the tournament. The Europeans also knew that if they drew and Serbia and Australia failed to take three points they would squeeze through in second place - hardly the way anyone thought it would be following their 4-0 thrashing of the Socceroos in their tournament opener.

Landon Donovan scripted a fairytale ending for the USA in the last round of Group C fixtures by scoring in time added on to seal his team's passage into the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup. Against Algeria, the USA were utterly dominant and wasted umpteen chances before Donovan struck. They now join England - who won 1-0 on the night against Slovenia - in the last 16 as table toppers and would know their opponents for the next round after Group D's final round of fixtures take place later today.

The USA squared up against the African nation of Algeria at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. There was a lot riding on this particular fixture as both the contending teams harboured hopes of making it through to the knock-out rounds at the World Cup. A win for the Americans would have been sufficient to take them through ; while a win for Algeria and a favourable result in the simultaneous England-Slovenia encounter would have taken the Africans through.

Argentina sealed top place in their group following a hard fought 2-0 victory against a deeply defensive Greek side at the FIFA World Cup in Polokwane. Late second half goals from Martin Demichelis and substitute Martin Palermo in a much changed Argentina side consigned the Greeks to defeat and an early exit following South Korea's vital point against Nigeria which secured second place for the Asian side. The Greeks were desperately dour hoping events in the Nigeria and South Korea match would seal their berth into the second round. Maradona's Argentina now face Mexico in the last 16 while South Korea take on Uruguay.

The situation before the games in Group B kicked off were simple enough. Greece knew they could progress if they produced a better result than South Korea did on the night. Argentina meanwhile had one foot in the knock-out rounds of the World Cup, and the only thing that could stop them from making it two was if they pressed the self destruct button.

A disciplined performance from Uruguay saw them cruise past Mexico with a solitary goal in the third and final group game for both sides at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg today. While it was Mexico who began the game strongly, Uruguay held their own in defence before hitting back on the counter to take a crucial win and end up topping Group A.

Despite the loss, Mexico also go through to the knockouts, being placed second behind Uruguay, as hosts South Africa and last year's finalists France were knocked out of the tournament. Mexico though, would meet Argentina in all probabilities in the ‘Round of 16', and they would need to better their record against South American sides, if they are to harbour any hopes of an upset.