Cologne, Germany – Joe Cole was shredding Sweden’s defense so effortlessly he had confident England fans singing “God Save the Queen” before halftime. Not so fast. The Swedes have been flustering England for nearly 40 years, and this game would be no different.
Henrik Larsson scored off a throw-in, getting the slightest touch to deflect the ball into the net in the 90th minute and salvage a 2-2 tie for the Swedes on Tuesday night. England hasn’t beaten Sweden since 1968, a span of 12 games (4-0-8).
“We scored two fantastic goals and it’s a little bit annoying that we concede two goals, one from a corner, one from a long throw-in,” England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said. “Even though the Swedes are very strong, we are also a tall, strong team and we should defend better.”
There is one big bright spot for England, though. It still won Group B, which means it gets Ecuador and an extra day of rest for the second round, playing Sunday in Stutt- gart. And Sweden, as the runner-up, will have to play three-time champion and World Cup host Germany in Munich in the second round Saturday.
Cole scored on a brilliant 30-yard shot in the 34th minute, and then set up Steven Gerrard’s go-ahead goal in the 85th for England. Sandwiched between England’s goals, Marcus Allback tied it when he outleaped England captain David Beckham on a header in the 51st minute. It was the 2,000th goal of the World Cup, which began in 1930.
Larsson tied it for the final time when he barely brushed the throw-in from Tobias Linderoth but was able to get it past Sol Campbell and goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
“I knew my chances would come,” Larsson said. “If you’re lucky you will score. I was tonight.”
GERMANY 3, ECUADOR 0 at Berlin: Miroslav Klose scored twice and his partner at striker, Lukas Podolski, added the third as Germany won Group A to close its best World Cup start in 36 years.
“The next games are going to be very different and we are going to be playing teams of a different caliber,” Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann said. “We have no problem with being named as one of the favorites.”
The match was played at Olympic Stadium, which was built by Adolf Hitler for the 1936 Olympics as a celebration of the Third Reich. There, Jesse Owens won four gold medals, making a mockery of Nazi claims of Aryan supremacy. The German team rarely plays at the stadium – but has its sights on another trip to the historic arena, July 9 in the World Cup final.
“We like returning to the stadiums we know and hopefully we’ll be back here,” Klinsmann said.
POLAND 2, COSTA RICA 1 at Hanover: Bartosz Bosacki scored twice to lift Poland to victory in a Group A match between teams already knocked out of the tournament.
The winner came in the 66th minute, when Bosacki rose above Paulo Wanchope to powerfully head Jacek Krzy- nowek’s corner kick into the goal.
“The game cost us a lot of energy,” Bosacki said, “but I’m happy that we can leave the tournament with our heads held high. It’s just too bad that we’re going home so soon.”
PARAGUAY 2, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 0 at Kaiserslautern: Brent Sancho headed a ball past his own goalkeeper in the 25th minute and the Soca Warriors never recovered. Nelson Cuevas broke free on a counterattack in the 86th minute to score Paraguay’s second goal, providing a bright ending to a disappointing World Cup.
Today’s games
Portugal vs. Mexico, 8 a.m., ESPN
Iran vs. Angola, 8 a.m., ESPN2
Netherlands vs. Argentina, 1 p.m., ESPN
Ivory Coast vs. Serbia and Montenegro, 1 p.m., ESPN2
