Day 7: Ecuador and England Go Through
Ecuador and England marched through to the Round of 16 with cleansheet wins on Day 7 of the Fifa World Cup. Sweden also broke their scoreless streak to eliminate Paraguay 1-0.
England escaped with a 2-0 victory after Trinidad and Tobago held them scoreless for 82 minutes. Peter Crouch finally broke through with a header off of a David Beckham cross. Liverpool mate Steven Gerrard added a screamer in injury time to seal the win. T&T nearly went ahead in the first half, but John Terry desperately cleared Stern John's header off the goal line. England controlled possession throughout, but came dangerously close to not finding the net themselves.
Elsewhere in Group B, Sweden ended their own scoring drought in the 88th minute against Paraguay. Freddie Ljunberg headed in the first Swedish goal of the tournament, which was enough to put his side in good shape to advance to the next round. Sweden and England will face off to decide the group winner next Tuesday in Cologne.
Over in Group A, Ecuador began the day's action with a convincing 3-nil stomping of Costa Rica. Ecuador now has two wins and will match-up with the Germans for their group's top position. A tie would send Ecuador to Round 2 as winners of the group on the strength of a +5 goal differential.
Tomorrow's matches:
Argentina - Serbia & Montenegro
Netherlands - Ivory Coast
Mexico - Angola
(photo by TORSTEN SILZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Comments
well done to england! a sub par performance but this is a hallmark of the world cup.no team ever plays 7 flawless games in a row!i am very impressed by ecuador,mexico and spain,but VIVA ENGLAND!!!
Posted by: david dauncey | June 15, 2006 08:38 PM
I am pretty sure that Ecuador is going to win because that country rocks and my brother is in the World Cup.
Posted by: Daniela Mendez | June 15, 2006 09:43 PM
As a born Tobagonian I want the world to know how proud Trinidad and Tobago and all the Caribbean are of the Soca Warriors.Guys you made us proud, so three cheers to the Soca Warriors. It's not over yet we still have an outside chance to move on, so go warriors.
Posted by: Tobago Natty | June 15, 2006 11:06 PM
Why is it when Brazil had an UGLY win, the press all said "This team is so good, they win even when they play poorly." But England, has played to sub-par matches, but got all 6 points and everyone says "England isn't playing well." Bottom line, they got all 6 points & are going through and they can only improve.
Posted by: ForzaItalia | June 15, 2006 11:45 PM
Let me tell you ForzaItalia,The press has been commenting on Brazil's bad performance against Croatia for a long time.England r NOT going to win the World cup
Posted by: ForzaItalia's mum | June 16, 2006 01:12 AM
J'adore le France!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Camille Haulot | June 16, 2006 01:14 AM
Absolutely my oppinion, mum :-)
For me England did not play well at all (regardless of what press wrote about Brazil) and scored the first goal after Crouch fouled his opponent Brent Sancho. They can only impove - indeed. :-))
Posted by: Jorghe | June 16, 2006 01:34 AM
This looks like a year for the underdogs. Although the big teams are taking late leads and finding results, the underdog teams are holding there own and are showing that they can hold their own against the big dogs.
Posted by: Sean | June 16, 2006 11:41 AM
Hey 'mum', i got news for you, neither is brazil.
Posted by: ForzaItalia | June 16, 2006 12:01 PM
GOD Crouch is one tall mother. and gerrard you are my boy. and beckham your terrible sometimes but sometimes i heart you.
Posted by: Zak | June 16, 2006 01:19 PM
i hope Ecuador wins it all they deserve it the most even though i dont like them i hope they win the World Cup
Posted by: kade | June 16, 2006 02:52 PM
i am suprised at ecuador's run. I hope they get far into the tournament as well.
Posted by: john | June 16, 2006 07:46 PM
Am really happy for el tractor amarillo i hope they get to the finals but before am more than sure they going have to beat England but still i think ECUADOR is doing a great job!!!!!!!!!!! ECUADOR lets go si se puede si se puede!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: diego | June 16, 2006 08:06 PM
i would be happy if kurdistan(mozapotamia) was in the world cup,but unforuntly not,but surly want england to win this world cup,iam sure they have the ability but we need some luck this time
Posted by: KURDISTAN | June 21, 2006 07:23 AM
I'm so glad that the inrtenet allows free info like this!
Posted by: Kaed | September 10, 2011 03:06 PM