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Gerardo Martino, Paraguay coach
We were deserved winners and we are feeling quite calm but very happy too. We played better today and we’ve come through a very difficult and decisive match. It’s difficult to control a World Cup game all the way through but that’s what we did. The movement of our three strikers was great and we pressed them a lot, though there were times in the second half when we didn’t build up play from defence and just hit hopeful long balls. Even so we still managed to work some openings. We need to keep on working hard now; we’ve won three points but we’re not through yet.

Vladimir Weiss, Slovakia coach
They were better than us in what was a very important match. We made two mistakes and they took full toll by scoring both their goals. Paraguay played some excellent football and they were always looking for the win. We gave it our all but this is a sport that shows you what you are actually capable of.

Justo Villar, Paraguay captain and goalkeeper
The most important thing is to win, not how well I kept. We got the points because we played well against very difficult opponents and because we pressed hard in the first half. We were also patient in possession and when we didn’t have the ball, and we also took two of the four or five chances that came our way.

Miroslav Stoch, Slovakia midfielder
I really don’t know what our problem is. We are making a lot of mistakes, especially at the back. We knew they would be a difficult side to beat but we couldn't make enough openings.

Paulo da Silva, Paraguay defender
We played the perfect game. We scored early, we defended well and then we killed the game off at just the right time. They are a difficult team to play. They sit back, wait for you to come on and then hit you on the break, but they didn’t catch us off guard. We’ve taken a very big step and we’ve almost achieved our major objective. Against New Zealand we need to go in with the same attitude if we want to win. Qualification is in our hands now.

Marek Hamsik, Slovakia captain and midfielder
We didn’t play badly but we couldn’t take our chances and they took theirs. That was the difference between the two sides.