Two cheers for England after winning start

BADEN BADEN, Germany, June 11: England got the victory they craved but Sven-Goran Eriksson's men fell well short of their World Cup hype in their 1-0 win over Paraguay.

England found the Waldstadion heat stifling and the Paraguayans' skill in possession deeply frustrating in a bruising opening game in Group B.

After an impressive half-hour, in which David Beckham's free kick found the net via the head of Paraguay captain Carlos Gamarra, England wilted in the sunshine.

However, they defended well enough to see off a dogged opponent and can take several positives out of a game that was always going to be strewn with banana skins.

Most important of all was getting the three points.

Winning a tournament opener is a rare enough feat for England -- yesterday being their first since the 1998 World Cup -- and they would have settled for a much worse performance for the same scoreline.

It was also a result that got better as the evening wore on, with the other Group B game surprisingly ending 0-0 between Trinidad&Tobago and Sweden.

It meant that another England win over Dwight Yorke and his Soca Warriors in Nuremberg on Thursday would guarantee Eriksson's men a place in the second round.

England's central defenders Rio Ferdinand and John Terry were another plus point -- repelling everything in the air and on the floor that came down the middle.

Frank Lampard, whose sharpshooting kept goalkeeper Aldo Bobadilla on his guard, an impressive Steven Gerrard and captain Beckham all put in solid performances in midfield.

Joe Cole's trickery down the left flank often tied Paraguay in knots and he also did well when Eriksson switched him to a creative role behind striker Peter Crouch.

However, England singularly failed to put all of this together in a fluid display of passing football.

Crouch and strike partner Michael Owen, looking well off the pace and substituted after 55 minutes, were at times hopelessly isolated from the midfield.

Poor passing and a lack of movement off the ball meant England lacked penetration and could only keep possession in fits and starts, surrendering much of it to Paraguay.

Several players were below-par individually, though all of them after injuries.

Owen, dogged all year by a slow recovery from a broken foot, was put through by both Gerrard and Beckham but failed to take either chance.

His lack of sharpness and stamina is a particular worry as striker Wayne Rooney is only now working on match fitness after injury, though he may yet feature against Sweden.

It led Eriksson to insert left-winger Stewart Downing and move Cole across to act as a second striker to plug the gap when Owen left.

Gary Neville, who had been nursing a hamstring strain, and fellow full back Ashley Cole, who had also missed a training session with a thigh problem, lacked assurance in defence and bite going forward.

A final worry on a day when England looked anything but World Cup winners were the yellow cards shown to Gerrard and Crouch -- though England may yet be lucky.

Should they win on Thursday, and Sweden draw with Paraguay, Eriksson's men would win the group -- and avoid a likely clash with Group A leaders Germany.

It would also mean Gerrard, Crouch and the less fit could be rested and the likes of youngsters Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon unleashed on an unsuspecting tournament.

REUTERS

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