Paraguay sprang perhaps the biggest surprise of the World Cup so far when beating Nigeria 3-1 last night to qualify for a second-round clash with France but, well though they played, I tend to feel that Spain should have come out of this group. Paraguay qualified last night because they were playing a sub-strength Nigeria (Yugoslav coach Bora Mulitinovic had dropped five of his normal first team) which made the result was irrelevant.

This was not the fault of either Nigeria or Paraguay, but rather it underlined one more time how important it is not to lose your opening game. Having been beaten 3-2 by Nigeria in their opening match, the Spaniards were always chasing qualification from then on. A draw against Paraguay in their second match took matters out of their hands, meaning that a win against Bulgaria became irrelevant if Paraguay were to win against Nigeria.

So it proved. Spain pulverised a poor Bulgarian side, beating them 6-1, but it mattered little since Paraguay, in a manner not dissimilar to Norway against Brazil on Tuesday night, made the most of the lack of commitment of opponents who had already won the group. In the end, the real winner of last night's two games was France. They will be much happier to face Paraguay than Spain in the second round.

As for France themselves, I find it hard to fault their 2-1 win over Denmark in Lyon yesterday. You could argue that three straight wins against South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Denmark do not mean a lot but, on the other hand, you cannot ask a side to do anymore than win - incidentally scoring nine goals in the process.

Remember, too, that French coach Aimee Jacquet brought in five reserve players against Denmark in defenders Vincent Candela, Frank Leboeuf and Christian Karembeu, as well as midfielder Patrick Vieira and striker Roberto Pires. Yet the changes made little difference with France winning more easily than the final scoreline would suggest against a poor Danish side.

Yesterday's win will have done a lot of good for French squad morale since all the reserves who played will now feel that they too have made their contribution. France are fit and well, they look comfortable and the only real question mark concerns their ability to handle the mounting pressure from home fans when it gets to knock-out soccer against more powerful opponents.

It might seem perverse but, despite the fact that France have scored nine goals in three games, I remain convinced that they have a problem in attack. Against tougher opposition and more organised defences, I can see them having trouble scoring since none of their strikers - Stephane Guivarc'h, David Trezeguet, Thierry Henry, Christophe Dugarry - are real poachers.

I also remain unconvinced by French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. He is a flamboyant showman but, speaking as an ex-defender, goalkeepers like that make me uneasy. You always suspect that, sooner or later, they will get caught out.

Having said that, I have to add that the goalkeeping so far in this tournament has been disappointing. I have not yet seen a goalkeeper who has looked really sound and impressive. Even Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel did not look foot perfect yesterday. He dropped a couple of balls, which is unlike him, while he will be annoyed with himself about France's second goal.

Once more, I find myself having to complain about referees. After the appalling decision which saw Norway awarded a non-existent penalty against Brazil on Tuesday night, we started off in the same vein yesterday with five penalties in the two afternoon games alone. I thought at least three of the five were bad decisions.

Leaving aside South Africa's 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia - given that both teams were always likely to be eliminated - I would just question the all-important first penalty awarded to France after only 12 minutes. FIFA, and in particular the statements of FIFA president-elect Sepp Blatter, have created a ridiculous situation whereby if there is any sort of contact in the penalty area, then even as experienced a referee as Italian Pierluigi Collina (who handled France-Denmark) feels pressurised to award a penalty.

So far, bad refereeing has done a deal of harm, probably costing both Morocco and Cameroon their places in the second round. My biggest worry, however, is that the harm done thus far will be as nothing compared to what could happen if this type of refereeing goes on from here to the end of the tournament.

(In an interview with Paddy Agnew)