Manchester: Only complacency and a crippling injury list stand between England and a place in the World Cup second round after a favourable draw pitched them with Sweden, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago in Group B.
Despite the injuries to a number of key players, especially striker Wayne Rooney, England still have enough players, the form and the ambition to go far beyond the group phase in Germany.
However, it is also well within their ability to stumble at every hurdle and find themselves on an early flight home.
Things could start to go wrong for Sven-Goran Eriksson's men if they underestimate the Paraguayans in their opener in Frankfurt on June 10.
France were given a bigger scare by Paraguay in the second round of the 1998 World Cup triumph than by defending world champions Brazil in the final - and little has changed in the South Americans' philosophy since then.
Comfortable in possession and trained to exchange plenty of short passes, Paraguay tend to pack their final third of the pitch and do not give the ball away cheaply.
It may not make for spectacular football but it does make life extremely difficult for their opponents.
France needed a Golden Goal in extra time from Laurent Blanc to see them off eight years ago and Germany had to wait until the 88th minute for Oliver Neuville to score the only goal of their second round tie in 2002.
England's recent winning record against South American opposition is also deceptive. Though they have beaten Argentina 3-2 and Uruguay 2-1 in friendlies in the last six months, Eriksson's side were losing to Argentina until the 87th minute and to Uruguay until the 75th.
Both matches were only won in stoppage time.
The game against Trinidad and Tobago should yield three easy points, unless striker Dwight Yorke upsets the plans of his former Manchester United team mates Gary Neville and David Beckham.
The one thing England will want to avoid is making a big enough hash of their earlier games to leave them needing to beat Sweden in their final match in Cologne on June 20.
England have not defeated Eriksson's compatriots in 11 matches since 1968 and could only manage a 1-1 draw against a combative, disciplined Sweden in the group stage at the last World Cup.
The Swedes will probably also be looking to seal their place in the last 16, while Paraguay could still be very much alive before they face Trinidad and Tobago in Kaiserslautern.
A great deal could turn on the game five days before that, on June 15, when the Swedes led by talismanic striker Henrik Larsson play the Paraguayans in Berlin.
With England seeded to win the group, the showdown between their two closest rivals will not be for the fainthearted. If England slip up, they should both go through.
Comments
0 comment