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| England, Ecuador Advance, Paraguay Exit |
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Ecuador and England qualified for the knockout stage of the 2006 World Cup after beating their rivals Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 and 2-0 respectively on Thursday while Paraguay had to pack home as they lost to Sweden 1-0. In Hamburg, Ecuador's striker Carlos Tenorio scored the opener only 8 minutes into the game as he knocked the ball into the net off a cross from midfielder Luis Valencia. The Ecuadorans continued their attacks after the break and Agustin Delgado scored the second in 54th, leaving the Costa Ricans dumbfounded.? Ivan Kaviedes kicked the ball into the net after midfielder Edison Mendez found him in the penalty box in the injury time. Ecuador collected six points in the two matches without conceding a goal, topping the group A, followed by hosts Germany, also with two wins. In Nuremburg, Crouch, a Liverpool striker who stands 1.98 meters, broke the deadlock in the 83rd minute, jumping high above Trinidad and Tobago defender Brent Sancho to head home David Beckham's cross from the right in the 83rd minute. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard made it 2-0 in the final minute when Frank Lampard won a free-kick and took it quickly to put England on the attack. Gerrard unleashed an unstoppable left-foot shot from outside the area on the right that left Shaka Hislop with no chance. With a group game to spare against Sweden, and following Ecuador's win over Costa Rica earlier in the day in Group A, England will face either hosts Germany or the Ecuadorians in the knockout stage. In Berlin, a header from Sweden's Freddie Ljungberg in the 89th minute sent Paraguay home as they lost twice without a goal. Ljungberg, who plays for English Premier side Arsenal, popped up at the far post to head home after teammate Marcus Allback put a center back across goal. Ljungberg, who was named Man of the Match by FIFA Technical Study Group, said after the match that he could not wait for Tuesday's crunch game against England, after his goal kept alive Sweden's hopes of winning Group B. "It's going to be difficult but it will be a massive game as both teams want to win the group," said the Arsenal man. Paraguay coach Anibal Ruiz described his team's World Cup exit as "deeply painful". Ruiz said, "Sweden had more chances to score, they had more possession. It hurts but we have to congratulate the other team. Let me say that it is really deeply painful." (Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2006) |
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