Despite opening their World Cup campaigns with matching results, Paraguay and Slovakia will enter Sunday's Group F showdown in Bloemfontein with very different feelings.

Paraguay is sure to be buoyed by its 1-1 draw with world champion Italy in Cape Town.

Slovakia is certain to be deflated after conceding a 93rd minute equaliser to unfancied New Zealand in its 1-1 game in Rustenburg.

Group F is the tightest at the tournament, with all four teams showing exactly the same records: each has one draw, and has scored one goal and conceded one goal.

Sunday's second round of group games gives each country another chance to emerge as contenders for a place in the knockout stage.

After holding the group favourites at Green Point Stadium, Paraguay feels it has the momentum and is confident enough to talk of a first ever appearance in the World Cup quarterfinals.

"We want to go at least to the quarter-finals because in Paraguayan history it's never been done," striker Roque Santa Cruz said.

Santa Cruz, the Manchester City striker and Paraguay's best player, is also positive about his own fitness after struggling with injury in the run-in to the tournament and only playing the final 22 minutes against Italy.

Santa Cruz is back in contention for a place in Argentine coach Gerardo Martino's starting team against Slovakia even though that will mean breaking up the forward line of Borussia Dortmund teammates Nelson Valdez and Lucas Barrios - who impressed against Italy.

"I hope I'll be fully fit for the Slovakia match," the 28-year-old Santa Cruz said.

"I felt OK against Italy when I came on, and I felt I could have played longer."

Slovakia, which is playing in its first major tournament since the former Czechoslovakia divided in 1993, was forced to shake off the bitter disappointment of allowing a 1-0 lead over the New Zealanders to slip in the dying moments at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

Coach Vladimir Weiss described Winston Reid's injury-time header for the All Whites as "a minor sporting tragedy" and Slovakia will have to pick itself up for the contest with a confident Paraguay at Bloemfontein's Free State Stadium.

"Against New Zealand, it was a game with a lot of fouls," Weiss said.

"Tomorrow (Sunday) we will run more. Physically it will be a more difficult game, the pace will be quicker, the movement will be quicker."

Weiss' son, Vladimir junior, said the Slovaks had learnt a harsh lesson in their first World Cup appearance.

"Winning would have been the perfect start," the 20-year-old winger said, "but conceding a goal in the last minute has changed everything."

"That was our big debut in the World Cup ... and we'll do our level best to prevent the same thing from happening again."

Coach Weiss will again likely rely on a strong spine against Paraguay with the focus on central defenders Martin Skrtel of Liverpool and Jan Durica and forwards Stanislav Sestak and Robert Vittek - who combined for Vittek's opener against New Zealand.

Paraguay is still favoured to win Sunday's game following its performance against Italy and a run in World Cup qualifying that saw Martino's men beat Brazil and his native Argentina.

"We are definitely not the favourites in this match," Slovakia goalkeeper Jan Mucha said. "We didn't win our opener and obviously we can't afford a loss against Paraguay and we're going to try to win."

Martino said his Paraguay team can improve on its impressive opening performance, which gave his men "a lot of confidence."

"We attach great importance to what we have done (against Italy)," Martino said.

"We need to improve on our possession and how we move the ball."

Paraguay also has extra motivation and has dedicated its World Cup campaign to striker Salvador Cabanas.

Cabanas, the former South American footballer of the year who top scored for La Albirroja in its qualifying campaign, is recovering at home after being shot in the head in a bar in Mexico City in January.

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