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On Thursday, for the second time, teams from Group B of the World Championship will take to the field. In the first match, England, already with one victory under their belt, will face Sweden, who surprised football fans by holding them to an equal score, against Trinidad and Tobago.
England - Trinidad and Tobago
Time: 19:00 (Lithuanian time)
Location: Frankenstadion (41,000 spectators), Nuremberg
Referee: Toru Kamikawa (Japan)
Outfits
England - dark blue shorts, white shirts.
Trinidad and Tobago - red shorts, red shirts.
Predictions
Led by Sweden's Sven-Goran Eriksson, the English team is undoubtedly one of the main favorites of the tournament. Despite being 40 years without winning any prestigious trophies since their 1966 success in the defending final tournament, the English were always among the favorites.
Meanwhile, the underdog team from the Caribbean island, participating for the first time in a tournament of this magnitude, is not aiming for significant victories at least this year. Nonetheless, the dedicated and enthusiastic players trained by Leo Beenhakker have earned the respect of both spectators and opponents and will not be an easy target for both England and the Paraguayan team awaiting the last match of the group.
Of course, bookmakers from Lithuania and abroad predict a victory for the English. But, as the famous L. Beenhakker, who is renowned for his phrases in the championship, says, what is on paper does not always come true on the field.
First Match
England 1-0 Paraguay
The representatives of the birthplace of football started the championship triumphantly but also received a lot of criticism from experts and fans. England, or rather the Paraguayans themselves, scored a goal in the fourth minute of the match when experienced defender Carlos Gamarra directed the ball into their own goal after a pass from the flank. It was one of those very rare episodes, not counting a few quite dangerous shots from afar when the English truly threatened the opponent's goal. Although the defense worked cohesively and did not allow the opponents to create opportunities, the sluggish play in attack does not raise optimism for the eager fans of victories.
Meanwhile, S.G. Eriksson faced significant criticism for the substitutions made in the second half. After just 10 minutes on the field, the main team striker Michael Owen left the pitch. For many, this decision seemed strange, as the 26-year-old Englishman had recently recovered from an injury, and now he needs time to regain his best form on the field. Especially since the striker did not play poorly, although he was not very noticeable.
After substituting the "Newcastle" forward, his place on the field was taken by midfielder Joe Cole, and since then the English team, not shining in attack, did not manage to seriously threaten the opponent's goal.
"The performance in the second half was very poor," said former national team player Ian Wright. - "I want to see M. Owen playing for 90 minutes and, hopefully, scoring a goal. What does the coach want to say to his main striker by substituting him in the 55th minute?"
"I do not know if S.G. Eriksson is returning to the style used during his time in Italy when, after scoring a goal, the team withdrew and tried to maintain the advantage, but I rate the decision to substitute M. Owen very negatively."
Sweden 0 - 0 Trinidad and Tobago
This result is one of the biggest surprises of this championship. The underdog from the American continent, playing with ten men for almost the entire second half, fought heroically and resisted the powerful and star-studded Swedish team.
One of the biggest rewards for the representatives of the American continent for their efforts was the applause of neutral fans who could not hide their admiration and supportive cheers. It is not worth wondering - this match, although ending goalless, was one of the most interesting in the beginning of this non-scoring championship.
"It was the most impressive day of my career. I think it would have been even if I hadn't played, but Saturday's match was like filling the missing part of everything," said Trinidad and Tobago's goalkeeper, Shaka Hislop, who became the hero of the match. – "I know that when I finish my career, I will be a happy man. Because when everything was going so well... well, I might even die happy."
After the match, the country's prime minister, Patrick Manning, congratulated the team over the phone.
Facts
England
If the English win this match, they will secure a place in the second stage of the tournament. Furthermore, in case of a draw between the Paraguayan and Swedish teams, the representatives of the football birthplace would become the winners of the group after the second match.
After the unsuccessful second half of the match against Paraguay, the English players of the national team justified themselves with very high heat, as the thermometer soared to an unusual 29 degrees Celsius for the Brits on the day of the match. It seems that S.G. Eriksson's pupils will have to endure unfavorable weather conditions again - although it was initially thought that the weather should be cooler, the latest meteorological forecasts state that the weather will be hot even during the second match of England.
It is worth noting that Steven Gerrard and Peter Crouch are at risk of missing the last group match against Sweden if they receive a yellow card against Trinidad and Tobago. Primary defender Gary Neville has a calf injury, and it is unclear whether he will be able to play.
Meanwhile, Theo Walcott has the chance to become the second youngest player to participate in a World Cup finals match. If the Englishman appears on the field against Trinidad and Tobago, he will be 17 years and 91 days old on the day of the match. The current record belongs to former Northern Ireland national team striker Norman Whiteside, who played in a final tournament match in 1982 at the age of 50 days younger than T. Walcott.
However, one of the brightest young talents of today has the opportunity to become the youngest player to score a goal. The legendary Brazilian Pele, who currently holds this record, scored at the age of 17 years and 239 days.
Trinidad and Tobago
The main headache for coach L. Beenhakker is the left-back position. In the previous match, left-back Avery John, who played in that position, was sent off the field, so in the second match, the player will not be able to appear due to disqualification. In this case, the Dutch strategist will not have any left-back players for this position on the field.
One of the best title goalkeepers of the team, S. Hislop, will definitely play against the English - Kelvin Jack, who was supposed to take the position of the main goalkeeper of the Trinidad and Tobago team, is still not fully recovered from a knee injury and will not appear in the match.
Optimism for the representatives of the American continent should be added by the fact that they have not lost for five consecutive official matches.
Meanwhile, for national team coach L. Beenhakker, these will be the fifth match at the World Cup - in 1990, the specialist led the Dutch team and played four matches at the tournament in Italy. Four of these matches ended in a draw, with the Dutch leaving the field defeated only once.
Hope
Perhaps the only person who can miraculously revive the English team's attack, which languished against Paraguay, in the second match against Trinidad and Tobago is the young Wayne Rooney. The Englishman has been recovering from an injury suffered in one of the last Premier League matches for a month and a half, but he is already healing and, perhaps, he will appear on the field for a few minutes in the second match.
"I think he is ready to play, but definitely not from the start of the match. His foot would be too heavy for him for 90 minutes," said S.G. Eriksson on Tuesday.
Thoughts Before the Match
"The first matches of the championship are incredibly difficult and, statistically, not very successful for the English," said S.G. Eriksson. - "The most important thing was to win three points, and we succeeded."
"I understand that to win the World Cup, we need to play better than we did against Paraguay. And we will. Our game will only improve in every other match," he said.
"Before the match with Paraguay, we knew that if we won, we would have a chance in the match with Trinidad and Tobago, which we should win to secure a place in the next stage," said Joe Cole. - "Now we have this opportunity."
Meanwhile, team captain David Beckham singled out the opponent's team leader, Dwight Yorke, with whom he once played in the team "Man Utd": "He is a big threat to defenders in every match. D. Yorke has been among the most dangerous forwards on the planet for many years, and when we won the Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup with the Manchester team, he was a very important part of the team."
Meanwhile, L. Beenhakker, as always, spoke uniquely: "I hope W. Rooney will be able to play. It is imperative to see all the best players at the World Cup. I hope he is ready and can take to the field for at least twenty minutes. As a football fan, I am looking forward to his appearance.
"We will try to win the match because you cannot prepare a team for a draw or a loss. The English struggled for 90 minutes against Paraguay, the Swedes did the same against us, and this only proves once again that it is not as easy as it may seem," said Stern John. - "It is very important that during the match, we garnered a significant amount of support from neutral fans."
Previous Clashes
This is the first meeting between England and Trinidad and Tobago in international matches.
Predicted Starting Lineups
England (4-4-2)
1-Paul Robinson; 2-Gary Neville, 5-Rio Ferdinand, 6-John Terry, 3-Ashley Cole; 7-David Beckham, 8-Frank Lampard, 4-Steven Gerrard, 11-Joe Cole; 10-Michael Owen, 21-Peter Crouch.
Trinidad and Tobago
1-Shaka Hislop; 6-Dennis Lawrence, 5-Brent Sancho, 8-Cyd Gray, 11-Carlos Edwards (51-1); 12-Collin Samuel, 7-Chris Birchall, 18-Densill Theobald, 15-Kenwyne Jones; 14-Stern John, 19-Dwight Yorke.
