Sat 06 Jun 2006England grind-out lacklustre winEngland 1 Paraguay 0:England needed an own goal by
Paraguay captain Carlos Gamarra to grind out a 1-0 victory in
today's Group B opener.
Sven Goran Eriksson's side made a dream start on a hot afternoon
at the Waldstadion when Gamarra headed a David Beckham free kick
into his own net after three minutes.
But they failed to show the killer instinct their coach had
urged and at times rode their luck against skilful opponents.
England, who had lost two and drawn one of the opening games
in their last three tournaments, will be satisfied though with a
winning start in a physical encounter.
"We suffered a lot," Eriksson told BBC television. "This was
the first real hot, hot day and that knocked us a bit in the second
half.
"The most important thing was to get three points today and
we got them. It was a good start."
The first attack produced a goal when Beckham's ball soared
into the danger zone and Gamarra sent a glancing header past keeper
Justo Villar under pressure from Michael Owen and John Terry.