잉글랜드가 월드컵 본선에 처음 출전한 트리니다드토바고에 승리를 거두고 16강 진출을 확정지었다. 

잉글랜드는 16일(한국시간) 독일 뉘른베르크 프랑켄슈타디온에서 열린 2006  독일월드컵 B조 조별리그 2차전 트리니다드토바고와 경기에서 2-0으로 승리를 거뒀다. 

잉글랜드는 파라과이와의 1차전 승리에 이어 2승을 거두면서 승점 6점을  확보, 스웨덴과 남은 경기에 상관없이 16강 티켓을 획득했다. 

인구 130만의 월드컵 본선 첫 출전국인 트리니다드를 상대로 한 `축구  종가'의 위력은 후반 뒤늦게야 발휘됐다. 

경기 초반부터 트리니다드에 파상 공세를 펼치고도 쉽게 골문을 열지 못해 답답해하던 잉글랜드를 무기력증에서 꺼낸 주역은 `로봇춤'의 장신 공격수 피터  크라우치였다. 

후반 38분 잉글랜드의 주장 데이비드 베컴이 페널티지역 오른쪽 밖에서  찔러준 크로스를 크라우치가 솟구쳐 올라 헤딩슛으로 연결, 짜릿한 선제골을 만들어냈다. 

이어 경기 내내 트리니다드 진영을 헤집고 다녔던 잉글랜드의 미드필더  스티븐 제라드도 한 몫을 했다. 

제라드는 인저리타임에 들어가자 마자 페널티 정면 밖에서 수비수 한 명을 제친뒤 골키퍼가 손을 쓰지도 못한 강한 왼발 중거리슛을 성공시켜 승리에 쐐기를  박았다. 

잉글랜드는 전반 내내 일방적인 공세를 펼치고도 마무리가 안되자 후반 13분 웨인 루니를 투입시키는 등 강수를 뒀다. 

루니는 공격 포인트를 획득하지는 못했으나 활발한 움직임을 보여 부상에서  완전히 회복했음을 알렸다. 

수비에 치중하면서 간간이 역습을 노렸던 트리니다드는 전반 45분 선제골의  기회를 날려 땅을 쳐야 했다. 

트리니다드 주장 드와이트 요크의 코너킥을 스턴 존이 헤딩, 공은 궤적을  그리며 골문으로 날아 들어가고 있었으나 잉글랜드의 수비수 존 테리가 골라인을 통과하기 직전 걷어냈다. 

잉글랜드의 공세를 효과적으로 방어했던 트리니다드는 후반 집중력이  떨어지면서 연속 골을 허용, 1무1패로 16강 진출 가능성이 불투명해졌다. 

잉글랜드는 트리니다드와 비기거나 졌다면 `천적'인 스웨덴과 3차전을 통해  16강행을 결정지어야 했으나 이겼기 때문에 느긋하게 3차전을 치를 수 있게 됐다. (연합뉴스) 

England 2 : 0 Trinidad and Tobago 

[ENG] 21. CROUCH Peter (83')4. GERRARD Steven (91+') 

NUREMBERG, Germany (AP) - Peter Crouch and his England teammates spent most of the game missing chances in front of the net. With the time ticking away and England only minutes from a shocking draw against tiny Trinidad and Tobago, Crouch made the best of his last opportunity. 

Crouch headed in a cross by David Beckham in the 83rd minute to help England advance to the second round of the World Cup with a 2-0 victory Thursday. 
"It was disappointing, but you can't let your head drop and obviously you've got to keep getting in there," Crouch said. "I think with our delivery, and especially from David Beckham from the right, I think you're always going to get other chances. Thankfully, I managed to take one of them." 

Steven Gerrard added a goal in injury time and England got its second straight win in Group B to clinch a spot in the next round. 

England controlled play for most of the game, but Crouch and others missed countless good chances, raising Trinidad's hopes of holding its second straight favorite to a 0-0 draw. 

"People expected us to walk through this game," Beckham said. "We knew they were going to play 11 men behind the ball. They made it hard for us all game. We knew if we kept to our game plan that we'd break them down." 

England got a boost from Wayne Rooney's early return from a broken foot in the 58th minute, and finally broke through near the end. Aaron Lennon, the 19-year-old winger who came on in the second half, got the ball to Beckham in open space on the right side. 

Beckham took his time and found the 6-foot-7 Crouch in front of the Trinidad net. Crouch leapt over Brett Sancho and headed the ball past Shaka Hislop for England's first second-half goal in a World Cup since 1998 - eight games since Michael Owen scored against Romania. 

"To be honest, I think he was all over my back," Sancho said. "He was definitely pulling me back and definitely over my back. Then again, we're tiny Trinidad and Tobago. There's no way the referee is going to blow that whistle." 

Crouch's goal brought relief to England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and his players, who seemed to be just minutes away from a stunning scoreless draw. 

"We are always relieved when you go at a team as much as we did and we got nothing for 80 minutes," Beckham said. "But we were always creating chances and if we had taken them, we would have been a few up. The positive thing was that we finished strong and kept creating chances." 

England joined Germany and Ecuador, which have advanced from Group A. The English will play one of those teams in the next round. 

Trinidad and Tobago, which tied Sweden 0-0 in its opener, nearly scored late in the first half, but defender John Terry made an acrobatic save at the goal line. Stern John headed a ball in the middle of the box that appeared on its way into the net in the 45th minute, only to see Terry clear it off the goal line while falling down. 

That was the best chance for Trinidad, which was outshot 23-7. 

"Through 83 minutes I thought we played well and had a few chances," Hislop said. "With a little bit more luck, we could have gone in at halftime one-up. It just wasn't meant to be. In the end, when the dust settles we will be very proud of our performance today. Right now, we're very disappointed." 

Any shot at a draw ended when Gerrard beat Hislop with a hard, left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area in the final moments. Gerrard had scored two goals and a penalty kick against Hislop in the FA Cup final, which Liverpool won in a shootout over West Ham on May 13. 

"As the minutes tick by and the game goes on, your hopes build and you get more and more excited," Trinidad coach Leo Beenhakker said. "Our heads dropped after that and I wasn't surprised to see England score the second." 

Trinidad and Tobago has one point after two games, and still has a slim chance to advance to the second round if it can beat Paraguay next Tuesday and England beats Sweden. England can clinch first place with a tie against the Swedes. 

Trinidad's defensive strategy frustrated the English and quieted the crowd that had been singing and cheering loudly at the start of the game. 

It was Rooney's entrance in the 58th minute that turned the tide. The 20-year-old forward broke a bone in his right foot on April 29 playing for Manchester United and wasn't expected back this soon. 

But he was cleared to play by doctors earlier in the day, and combined with Lennon to bring more energy to England. The early struggles prompted the fans to chant Rooney's name in the first half, and they broke into a loud standing ovation when he came on in place of Owen. 

"The fans want to see him play and so do we," Beckham said. "Considering he's been out for six to seven weeks, he changed the game a little bit. Wayne said he felt fine, so that's the main thing. 

Owen missed one of England's first-half opportunities when he shot wide all alone in the middle of the box off a rebound in the sixth minute. Crouch also blew some early chances, including one rushed shot all alone in the middle of the box that went well wide. 
 
 

스웨덴은 16일(한국시간) 베를린 올림피아슈타디온에서 열린 2006 독일월드컵 B조 조별리그 2차전에서 후반 44분 터진 프레디에 융베리의 천금같은 헤딩골로  파라과이에 1-0 승리를 거뒀다. 

1차전에서 트리니다드토바고와 비긴 스웨덴은 1승1무를 기록, 승점  4점으로 조 2위로 올라섰다. 파라과이는 2패로 조별리그 탈락이 확정됐다. 

스웨덴은 이날 승리로 고비는 넘겼으나 16강 진출 여부는 잉글랜드와 치르는  3차전으로 넘겨 안심할 수 없는 처지. 

스웨덴의 16강 진출의 열쇠를 쥔 잉글랜드는 이미 16강 티켓을 손에 넣었지만  지난 38년간 월드컵을 포함해 10차례 A매치에서 한번도 이긴 적이 없는 스웨덴을 상대로 자존심 회복에 나설 것으로 보인다. 

스웨덴이 잉글랜드에 지고 트리니다드토바고가 파라과이를 꺾는다면 동률이 돼 골득실차로 조2위를 가리게 된다. 

트리니다드에 파상 공세를 펼치고도 골맛을 보지 못했던 스웨덴은 파라과이전에서도 끊임없이 골문을 위협했으나 쉽게 골 가뭄을 해결하지 못할 듯 보였다. 

그러나 해결사는 프리미어리그에서 최고의 돌파력을 지녔다는 미드필더    융베리였다. 

후반 44분 중앙선 우측에서 날아온 크로스를 마르쿠스 알베크가 골문 왼쪽 앞에서 헤딩으로 반대 방향으로 건넸고, 쇄도하던  융베리가 머리로 받아  넣어  그물을 갈랐다. 

파라과이는 무력하게 전반을 보낸 뒤 후반 시작하자마자 넬손 발데스가 골문 왼쪽 그물을 출렁이는 위협적인 슛을 하는 등 반격에 나서는 듯 했다. 

그러나 이후 골키퍼 정면으로 가는 발데스의 한,두차례 중거리슛 외에는 이렇다할 공격을 펼치지 못했다. (연합뉴스) 

Sweden 1 : 0 Paraguay 

[SWE] 9. LJUNGBERG Fredrik (89') 

BERLIN (AP) - The net was getting smaller and smaller for Sweden, and so were its chances of advancing in the World Cup. 

Fredrik Ljungberg changed that with an 89th-minute header for a 1-0 win Thursday night that put the Swedes in position to move into the second round. 
Marcus Allback headed a pass from the top-left corner of the 6-yard box to a charging Ljungberg on the opposite side of the goalmouth. Ljungberg jumped and powerfully headed the ball down to the far side to win it. 

When the ball passed goalkeeper Aldo Bobadilla's outstretched hand, the players and coaches on the Swedish bench jumped to their feet. And the overwhelmingly pro-Sweden crowd roared its approval. 

Sweden opened the World Cup with a 0-0 tie with Trinidad and Tobago, and looked headed for another goal-less game. Then Ljungberg rescued the Swedes, who are second to England, which has six points in Group B and already has made the second round. Sweden has four. 

Paraguay's second loss eliminated it.