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World Cup 2010: Fernando Llorente insists Spain won't underestimate Paraguay
Bilbao star warns upsets are always possible...
1 Jul 2010 23:45:00
By Paul Madden
Spain striker Fernando Llorente insists the European champions will not underestimate Paraguay when they meet in the World Cup quarter-final on Sunday.
The Athletic Bilbao centre-forward declared that the Albirroja are in the last eight on merit and qualified for the World Cup ahead of two other quarter-finalists Uruguay and Argentina and thus deserve to be respected.
"Nothing is easy at this stage, they are here on merit and qualified ahead of Argentina and Uruguay," he said.
"They are a team that knows what to do in every game and their players play in Europe's top leagues. We must prepare for the game without underestimating the opposition.
"They work very hard and have very good players but we have to focus on ourselves, we will not change what we are doing. We must remain faithful to our style.
"Upsets are always possible, but we were not going to let that affect us because we don't play to counter our rivals. We have our style."
When asked about who he would prefer to face in the semi-finals, Llorente was stern in his response.
"That question is inappropriate. We are focused on Paraguay, if we are lucky and win, then we'll talk about the semi-finals," he added.
| Bet: | Returns: | Spain £10.50 | Draw £90.00 | China £260.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Spain £11.00 | Draw £90.00 | China £230.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Spain £10.83 | Draw £100.00 | China £210.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Spain £10.80 | Draw £100.00 | China £260.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Spain £10.70 | Draw £122.00 | China £270.00 |
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The Athletic Bilbao centre-forward declared that the Albirroja are in the last eight on merit and qualified for the World Cup ahead of two other quarter-finalists Uruguay and Argentina and thus deserve to be respected.
"Nothing is easy at this stage, they are here on merit and qualified ahead of Argentina and Uruguay," he said.
"They are a team that knows what to do in every game and their players play in Europe's top leagues. We must prepare for the game without underestimating the opposition.
"They work very hard and have very good players but we have to focus on ourselves, we will not change what we are doing. We must remain faithful to our style.
"Upsets are always possible, but we were not going to let that affect us because we don't play to counter our rivals. We have our style."
When asked about who he would prefer to face in the semi-finals, Llorente was stern in his response.
"That question is inappropriate. We are focused on Paraguay, if we are lucky and win, then we'll talk about the semi-finals," he added.
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