England wins first match with 1-0 victory in Group B

Saturday, June 10, 2006

England beat Paraguay 1-0 in a bruising encounter among the shadows of the Commerzbank Arena, Frankfurt, Saturday.

In the sunshine and heat, which reached 30 degrees Celsius, it became a physical game that saw three bookings and the referee frequently blowing his whistle.

England got the perfect start scoring after just 3 minutes from a David Beckham freekick. Swung in from the left of the field, the ball clipped the head of Paraguayan captain Carlos Gamarra on its way to the net.

However; the game was not attractive for the neutral. Both sides looked nervous and no side got control of the midfield. Passes were frequently misplaced and attacks from both teams lacked cutting edge.

Paraguay lost number one goalkeeper Justo Villa to an injury in the sixth minute of the game. Aldo Borbadilla replaced him.

Missing Wayne Rooney, arguably their team’s most skilled player, whose recent injury though healed had ruled him out for this match, the noisy England fans in the crowd didn’t have much to sing about except the victory.

England’s Swedish manager Sven-Göran Eriksson‘s side had more possession but failed to score more than the one early goal. On their part, Paraguay was unable to capitalise on a number of English defensive errors to get an equaliser.

England next face Trinidad and Tobago while Paraguay face the England manager’s home nation, Sweden.