England captain David Beckham gestures to the crowd as referee Marco Rodriguez blows the final whistle on the World Cup clash with Paraguay in Frankfurt yesterday. England won 1-0. - REUTERS FRANKFURT, Germany (AP):
ENGLAND GOT the win, and didn't need to score a goal. Paraguay captain Carlos Gamarra headed in an own-goal in the third minute yesterday to give England a 1-0 win over the South Americans in their Group B opener.
Gamarra inadvertently headed David Beckham's curling free kick past Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar.
It got worse for Paraguay minutes later when Villar hurt his right calf while sliding forward to clear the ball and had to be replaced by Aldo Bobadilla.
"I am extremely pleased with the three points at the start," England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said. "The team suffered and we had to hang on for the result.
"I know that to win the World Cup we need to play better football, but we will play better."
England dominated the first half but were lacklustre in the second, often losing possession and slowed by the increasing heat, which rose to about 30 degrees C (86 degrees F).
"We let them pass the ball around too much," Beckham said. "But we were exhausted. We can put it down to that because we are usually strong and our fitness levels are high."
MISSED CHANCES
Paraguay missed a chance to score when England goalkeeper Paul Robinson punched Carlos Bonet's cross back into play and Carlos Paredes volleyed the ball over the goal.
"After the surprise of the first goal, we managed to surprise a very good team which could go all the way to the final game. I think we are capable of getting two more good results and go on to the second round," Paraguay coach Anibal Ruiz said.
England had several first-half chances to increase their lead. Bobadilla parried a long-range shot by Frank Lampard and Beckham hit an effort wide.
But Paraguay had a chance in first-half injury time when Nelson Valdez's shot went wide.
About two thirds of the Frankfurt stadium's 48,000 seats were filled with England fans. Thousands more watched on big screens around the city.
With Michael Owen lacking sharpness up front, Eriksson replaced him with winger Stewart Downing in the 56th minute.
"It was the sun's choice I took him off, not our choice," Eriksson said. "I think we have to play 90 minutes like we did the first 35."
Joe Cole pushed further forward behind Peter Crouch until he was substituted for defensive midfielder Owen Hargreaves, leaving the 2.01-metre (6' 7") Crouch isolated in the box.
Lampard had two late chances. Bobadilla pushed the midfielder's first attempt over the crossbar with one hand and the second around the post.
"We know we can do a bit better, but we've got a bit of time to work on things and we'll get better," Lampard said. "Once the dust settles we'll see what an important result this is."
Paraguay brought on a third forward Nelson Cuevas in the 68th but struggled to get shots on goal with the long balls from the midfield.
