Roque Santa Cruz has launched a defence of his lack of goals for Paraguay at the World Cup.
Striker states lack of goals are for good of the team
Roque Santa Cruz has launched a defence of his lack of goals for Paraguay at the World Cup, despite having not hit the target so far in the tournament.
The Manchester City striker is expected to lead the South Americans' attack in their second-round match against Japan in Pretoria on Tuesday, but he has struggled with his fitness all season since leaving Blackburn for Eastlands and has suffered a dip in form.
Manager Gerardo Martino has criticised his strikers for failing to find the target on several occasions during the tournament, with his team's three goals so far coming from midfield and defence.
Paraguay looked to have a strong attack in Santa Cruz, Borussia Dortmund striker Lucas Barrios and Benfica hit-man Oscar Cardozo, but they have been accused by Martino of being "not very mobile and quite inaccurate" during their Group F games.
"We had a lot of problems in an area we didn't expect - our attack," said Martino.
"But I think that we were very good defensively in the first three games, conceding only one goal."
Creating chances
Santa Cruz, who may make a switch to Valencia as a makeweight for David Silva, hit back at Martino, however, defending his fellow strikers and hailing the team as the best they had ever had.
"Our job is to make sure the defence doesn't have space to play in and to stop the opposition from controlling possession," the 28-year-old said.
"At the same time, we can create chances for our partners up front and the people get behind us. That way everyone gets a chance to score.
"This is the best Paraguay team ever. We have never been to the last eight. It is our goal.
"Everything is possible if we do that. We have beaten Argentina and Brazil, two of the world's best team, to get here."
