Random Rants: World Cup Blog

England fans double their pleasure: Rooney plays, team advances.

England's fans come prepared for tonight's match against Trinidad & Tobago. -- Photos by Chris Courtney --

By Chris Courtney
SoccerTimes

NUREMBERG, Germany (Thursday, June 15, 2006) -- The Barmy Army got its wish tonight when beloved striker Wayne Rooney made his return to the England team, but not before his teammates worked to penetrate a Trinidad & Tobago bunker.

Fresh off its 1-0 victory over Paraguay, England was looking for all three points to secure advancement from Group B to the World Cup's second round. The situation England wanted to avoid at all costs was to need points for advancement from its final group game against Sweden, a team it has not beaten in 38 years.

England could not break through until late goals by Peter Crouch and Steve Gerrard provided a 2-0 triumph that assured a berth in the Round of 16.

This match had the feel of an English FA Cup match between a Premier League side and one from the second-tier English League Championship. While England was composed almost entirely of Premiership players. T&T drew its players from the lower divisions in England, plus Scotland and Major League Soccer.

England pressured the Trinidad defense from the start with a number of near misses and muffed chances. Michael Owen looked lively early, carrying and distributing to Crouch and Frank Lampard as England continued a trend of building attacks from the left, usually off clever Joe Cole touches. Around the 25th minute, T&T tightened the bunker as the composed underdog frustrated the English midfield.

"I think they lost their patience too fast and started sending long balls in, which we were postured to deal with," T&T coach Leo Beenhakker observed.

Trinidad & Tobago were prepared for an upset of England which seemed possible until the closing moments

Despite the tight defense, Owen, Crouch, and Lampard managed to make good use of several David Beckham passes to create a handful of opportunities, none finding the target. Crouch's 42nd-minute muffed shot on an open net soon had the Barmy Army calling for Rooney.

In the second half, T&T remained tight in the back and managed to push the ball forward several times, including Dwight Yorke's gutsy 51st-minute run deep into the England half before he was fouled for a free kick. Two minutes later, he ran onto a smooth Aurtis Whitley though ball before being smothered by England keeper Paul Robinson.

In the 57th minute, England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson made two excellent substitutions by bringing on Rooney for Owen and the speedy Aaron Lennon for Jamie Carragher (who did not have much to do anyway). T&T now flexed into a tighter 5-4-1 with two defenders focused on Rooney. This insertion of power and speed up front started to crack the walls of the Trinidad bunker as Lennon's speedy runs into the corner forced the defense to adjust outward, creating more space for Rooney and Crouch.

Despite the increased England pressure, Trinidad still managed to attack by having an lone forward carry the ball deep try to, trying to win a free kick or throw-in. This approach gave T&T some possession deep in English territory, but resulted in few chances. Around the 71st minute, T&T goalkeeper Shaka Hislop found himself in a shooting gallery, but he stood solid as Rooney, Crouch, and Lampard converted good crosses from Lennon and a forward streaking Ashley Cole.

Around the 80th minute, the score was still 0-0 and England fans sat in quiet consternation, contemplating a draw, forcing a do-or-die situation with Sweden. Then, in the 83rd minute, Crouch put away a Beckham cross with a clean header for a 1-0 lead.

England fans rose when Wayne Rooney made his first appearance of the World Cup.

The spirited T&T fans, who filled a good portion of the stadium, fell silent while the England faithful burst into their well-known medley of songs such as "Footballs Coming Home," "God Save the Queen" and "Rule Britannia," to name a few. Seven minutes later, Gerrard gave them another reason to sing with a 23-yard laser into the net for a 2-0 lead.

Trinidad did not stop fighting and pushed forward hard searching for a goal, almost grabbing one in injury time, but a late offside flag snuffed out their hope of going home with a consolation goal.

"We worked hard and I am proud of how far we have come," Yorke said. "We looked for a point today, but we will fight on. A lot depends on the outcome of the Sweden-Paraguay match, but if there's a chance, we just might make it further."

England will face Germany or Ecuador in the second round. "We are through, but we would like to win the group," said England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, whose side will accomplish that with a win or draw against Sweden Tuesday. "I'm very happy that (Rooney) is fit, but he still isn't 100 percent. These 33 minutes (tonight) will make him very good for the next game."

Beckham, England's captain, saluted his nation's supporters. "The fans deserve all the goals and all the wins," he said. "They are always there to support us and are behind us every step of the way."

T&T chance of advancing is slim. It must defeat Paraguay, have England down Sweden and make up a goal differential three worse than Sweden.

Chris Courtney is SoccerTimes European correspondent and lives in Brussels. He is in Germany covering the World Cup.