Sweden qualified for the World Cup knockout stage after they stormed back twice to hold England to a 2-2 draw in their final Group B tie in Cologne on Tuesday.

England, who had never beaten Sweden over 38 years, were on the edge of kicking away the jinx when substitute Steve Gerrard muscled in a header in the 85th minute to put them 2-1 ahead.

But Sweden veteran striker Henrik Larsson turned the table around five minutes later when a throw-in left England's defense in disarray and Larrson capitalized to tuck the ball past England goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

England, who won the group with 7 points, will play Ecuador in the next phase of sixteen, while Sweden are to meet hosts Germany.

England were the far more superior eleven in the first half with Joe Cole constantly charging down the left flank.

In the 34th minute, the Chelsea midfielder volleyed in a spectacular goal to put England 1-0 ahead.

Wayne Rooney, who started for the first time in the World Cup, and midfielder Frank Lampard also rattled Sweden's defense with powerful long shots.

But in the second half, England mysteriously became listless and Sweden began to take control.

Their efforts paid off six minutes after the break when striker Marcus Allback headed in a corner kick to pull it level at 1-1.

England's defense was put under huge pressure as the Swedes looked increasingly dangerous.

In the 60th minute, another corner-kick resulted in Olof Mellberg striking the ball goalwards and it clipped the top of the bar with Robinson beaten.

In the 73rd minute, Gerrard, four minutes after coming on, saved England when he cleared a powerful shot from Kim Kallstrom off the line, with Robinson crawling on the ground looking on helplessly.

Germany topped World Cup Group A, as expected, with three wins, and "minnows" Ecuador stunned the world with two victories over stronger-looking Poland and Costa Rica, following the hosts into the last 16. 

Poland, which had been second favorite in the group, suffered two losses and finally beat Costa Rica 2-1 to finish third with three points. Costa Rica, which had been the third-placer in 2002 World Cup Group C, sank to bottom this time with three losses.

The German tank showed its powerful gunfire in their group journey, scoring eight times and conceding only two goals. The hosts routed Costa Rica 4-2 in the World Cup opener, edged Poland 1-0 in the last minute, and overwhelmed Ecuador 3-0 to win Group A.

German star striker Miroslav Klose scored twice in Costa Rica and Ecuador games respectively to top the World Cup scorers list so far.

Statistics show that all World Cup hosts have advanced through the group stage, even if they come from soccer-developing Asia, like South Korea and Japan in 2002.

In April, a poll in Sport bild magazine showed that only five percent of German fans believe their soccer team would win the 2006 World Cup trophy and another 10.8 percent believe that the hosts would not pass the group stage. The pessimistic view might come from former coach Rudi Voeller's conservative mind and his team's early exit at the 2004 European championship.

However, Juergen Klinsmann, who had been the lethal striker of the 1990 World Cup-winning team, took over as coach in 2004, and rejuvenated the team which had not beaten a major power since October 2000. The team changed from its slow, predictable style under Voeller to become more fast-paced and focus on attack.

Klinsmann picked up several young talents, such as Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and Cologne's striker Lukas Podolski, and ended months of debate by naming Arsenal's Jens Lehmann as his new No. 1 goalkeeper, leaving longtime starter Oliver Kahn on the bench.

Naturally, the armband of the captain went from Kahn to the key playmaker in the midfield Michael Ballack who has scored dozens of winners for Germany and Bayern Munich and is in his prime at 29.

Ballack and Schweinsteiger in the midfield, Podolski and WerderBremen's Klose, who was the leading scorer in the Bundesliga this season, up front, the German team owns frightful power and the home fans' support made the power more frightful.

But the leaky defense may be a headache for Klinsmann, as most of the team's defenders are in their early 20s or not regular starters in their clubs. The two goals scored by Costa Rica was a warn to Klinsmann.

Germany will meet Sweden, the runners-up in Group B, in the last 16. Ecuador will face Group B winners England.

Poland's coach Pawel Janas had said, "Progressing beyond the first stage is our minimum scenario." Unfortunately, his team was out.

Under Janas' guide, Poland won eight out of 10 games to qualify behind England in European Group Six and they looked good in recent friendlies.

Poland's rising star Ebi Smolarek, 25, playing for Borussia Dortmund, is among the top six scorers in the Bundesliga with 13 goals.

However, all these strong points did not shine again in the World Cup arena.

Costa Rica have already showed themselves capable of causing an upset in 1990. In 2002, they were drawn with Brazil, Turkey and China in Group C. Although they beat China, tied Turkey and lost to Brazil, earning the same points with Turkey, but they were out for less goals.

Costa Rica's eye-catching point is their coach Alexandre Guimaraes, a popular former international who played at the 1990 World Cup. However, he relied too much on his old stars in the last World Cup. Their tactics were not secrets to anybody.

Costa Rica's key player is Paolo Wanchope, who had played for Derby, West Ham and Manchester City in England and Malaga in Spain. He is Costa Rica's all-time leading scorer with 43 goals.

Wanchope really shone in the 2006 World Cup opener, scoring two goals but that was not enough for the team to cruise.

Paraguay beat Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 in their last World Cup Group B game on Tuesday as both sides ended their journey in FIFA's quadrennial event.

Paraguay, who lost to Sweden and England by identical scores of 1-0, collected three points and finished third in the group.

Trinidad and Tobago, who also lost to England 2-0 and drew Sweden 0-0, finished fourth with one point and was fourth in the group.

England and Sweden, who drew with each other 2-2 in the day's another game, qualified for the knockout stage as first and second placers.

Trinidad and Tobago, the smallest nation among the 32 participating countries and regions, should have got through to the next stage if they snatch a victory and Sweden lost to England at the same time. But an own goal in the 25th minute dashed their hopes.

Nelson Valdez got a head on a Robreto Acuna free kick and Trinidad and Tobago defender Brent Sancho directed the ball into their own goal.

Second half substitute Nelson Cuevas sealed the win for Paraguay in the 86th minute, which was a little harsh on the Trinidadians, who have been excellent in the half.

Leo Beenhakker said after the match: "It was an open match.

There were some possibilities for us to win, especially in the second half.

"It was a great experience for the players to be in this tournament. The experiences and confidence they built here will be very good for them in the future. They have shown that they can go with the best."

The Dutchman said that they are disappointed leaving the World Cup but he is proud of the players' performance.

"The players all worked very hard and they had a lot of passion. I cannot ask them more. I cannot blame the players.

Everybody was involved in the tournament and we can be proud of that. We can leave the tournament with pride."

Paraguay head coach Anibal Ruiz said: "We finally scored one win from the World Cup. This is a new-generation team for Paraguay and they will have a great future to build upon the success of the match." 　
 
(Xinhua News Agency June 21, 2006)