Images: Meet the World Cup's cry babies

Paraguayan lingerie model Larissa Riquelme cries while watching her team lose to Spain, during a public screening of the World Cup match, in Asuncion, on Saturday.

Spain striker David Villa fired his team into the World Cup semi-finals with a late goal to sink Paraguay 1-0 after both sides had missed penalties in a dramatic encounter at Ellis Park.

Photographs: Reuters

Interestingly, Paraguay's loss against Spain comes as a double blow for their fans back home.

Riquelme had promised to run naked through the streets if the team had managed to win the World Cup.

The 24-year-old beauty told Globoesporte that she would shed her clothes and run 'with my body painted with the colors of Paraguay.'

However, Paraguay exited the World Cup with their heads held high having reached the last eight for the first time and conceded just two goals in the entire tournament.

It was one of the worst days in Argentina's footballing history as they were thrashed 4-0 by a young Germany side in the quarter-finals.

A double from striker Miroslav Klose on his 100th international appearance, along with goals from Thomas Mueller and defender Arne Friedrich ensured the convincing win over a lacklustre Argentina.

Another title favourite fell by the wayside in the quarter-finals when the Netherlands shocked five-times champions Brazil 2-0 to enter the last four.

The Dutchmen sent their strongly favoured opponents packing after unleashing a scintillating second half sucker-punch that saw Brazil crumble having produced a dazzling display of soccer in a match they had looked set to win.

Paraguay's Oscar Cardozo in tears as he leaves the pitch after his team were beaten 1-0 by Spain in the quarter-finals.

Cardozo missed a 59th-minute penalty when his shot was saved by Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas to keep the scores at 0-0.

Casillas said after the game that reserve goalkeeper Pepe Reina had told him which way to dive, suggesting Cardozo would not go the same way as he did in the penalty shootout with Japan.

"The match was enough to give you a heart attack. A lot of thanks go to Reina who told me which way he was going to shoot," he said.

Ghana spurned a golden chance to write a new chapter for African football at the World Cup but exited the tournament the moral victors after a bitter quarter-final defeat to Uruguay.

At the first tournament hosted in Africa, Ghana were one kick away from becoming the continent's first ever semi-finalists but the usually reliable Asamoah Gyan missed a penalty that would have handed his side victory with the last effort of the match.

Uruguay went on to win the post-match penalty shootout 4-2 after a 1-1 draw.

"But it was one of many opportunities we had to win the game. I mean it's very tough (to have missed) but I'm the team's penalty taker and I had to try it," Gyan said

Thomas Mueller scored twice as Germany's young side put on a superb display to thrash England 4-1 and move into the World Cup last eight.

With an average age of around 25, compared to an ageing England side on the wrong side of 29, Germany's young guns all played a significant role in an overwhelming victory.

It was England's worst defeat in the tournament which they entered for the first time in 1950.

Jessica, 24, was stoic in defeat.

"I'll probably have a sulk for a couple of hours, then drink plenty and probably get over it," she said, sporting a cowboy hat and sunglasses.

Brazil produced one their best performance of the tournaments to crush Chile 3-0 in their Round of 16 match.

Chile boldly tried to go where few have gone before, fielding three forwards against the five-times world champions, and taking the game to their fellow South Americans.

But the gamble backfired big time as Brazil took the art of counter-attacking to a new level to cruise to an easy victory.

Other than the Chile game, Brazil treated their fans to some ponderous, pedestrian displays against the massed ranks of North Korea and Portugal before they eventually bowed out against the Dutch.

Paraguay held their nerve to beat Japan 5-3 on penalties to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time after the match had finished in a goalless stalemate.

The second round match at Ellis Park ended goalless after extra time and the South Americans netted a perfect five penalties whereas Japan's Yuichi Komano hit the bar with his team's third penalty.

Had the shootout gone their way, Japan would have reached the last eight for the first time ever and it says much about the changed status of the Asian game that few would have been overly surprised by such an outcome.

"It's a shame we've lost a game like this, because we worked really hard to reach the last 16 and we were on the verge of making history," said captain Makoto Hasebe.

Luis Suarez scored a goal in each half to give Uruguay a 2-1 win over South Korea and take them to the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 40 years.

South Korea's Cha Du-ri, the son of one of Asia's finest players, broke down on the pitch when his team failed to qualify for the quarter-finals against Uruguay in what may be the defender's last World Cup.

The son of Cha Bum-kun, regarded as one of Asia's best players of all time, said the 2-1 defeat by Uruguay was devastating after they controlled much of the game in the second half.

"We were controlling the game, we had played a great second half and then to lose like this... that hurts twice as much," he said, with tears still welling up in his eyes.