Paraguay must keep the ball away from Spain to have any chance of causing an upset in the World Cup quarter-finals, the Paraguayans' coach said Friday.

Gerardo Martino acknowledged that Paraguay is at long odds to win its first World Cup quarter-final on Saturday at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

"Spain imposes it's type of game on you," Martino said. "It's about stopping Spain from dominating possession.

"In a tournament with 20 games against Spain, Paraguay would have little chance. But in this World Cup, it's not just who plays better, but who has the fight and the spirit."

After Brazil's surprise defeat to the Netherlands on Friday, Spain is the highest ranked team left in the tournament at No. 2 and hot favorite to beat Paraguay, ranked 29 places lower by FIFA.

The winner will play either Argentina or Germany in the semifinal.

Martino said Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz would be fit to play.

"He's tired like all the other players after the match against Japan but we are trying to recover and be in our best shape," Martino said, adding that all 23 Paraguay players were available.

As well as the pressure of being the favorite, European champion Spain can advance to the semifinals for the first time since the World Cup adopted a knockout format.

The team's attack is led by the tournament's joint top scorer in David Villa, who has scored four of Spain's five goals so far.

"It's very difficult to stop a player who is in such good shape in this World Cup," Martino said. "He has this enormous goalscoring capacity and he's very determined in his play.

"Few players have this determination, but we will take all the steps we can in the match to make sure he is not decisive."

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