Day 2: England vs. Paraguay; Sweden vs. Trinidad & Tobago; Argentina vs. Ivory Coast

England vs. Paraguay

Carlos Gamarra (OG) 3'

This was an absolute drab of a match as neither team looked too impressive and was full of drama as early on in the third minute England were awarded a free-kick. Beckham's set-piece did found the head of Carlos Gamarra, the Paraguayan skipper, who intended to clear the ball to safety only to have netted the ball into his own goal and away from the diving Justo Villar. More drama ensued, as five minutes later, in an attempt to kick the ball away from Michael Owen, Villar injured himself and that announced the entry of substitute Aldo Bobadilla. The remainder of this half the English tried to create openings as Lampard, and Gerrard got in the action but none of their shots finding the prized opening. Cristian Riveros had a go only to be foiled by the English keeper. Just before the halftime break, Nelson Valdez had what was perhaps the best chance for the South Americans only to see his shot miss its mark.

The second half got underway at an unusually slow pace as both teams seemed content on keeping the ball, which is surprising since the Paraguayans did not sense the urgency of being a goal down. The second half was nevertheless largely dominated by Paraguay but their efforts did not seem hard enough. A very unfortunate game as neither team looked to eager to showcase their potential and send some warning signals.

Sweden vs. Trinidad & Tobago

This was a terrific game, after watching the England-Paraguay encounter, this game was like a gust of fresh air. T&T played to the hilt as they gave it their all, as the ten man island nation held the heavily favoured Swedes to a shock draw. The result is as good a victory for the nation whose fans were concerned not about how many games they would win but how many goals they would let in! Dwight Yorke was named man of the match in for this game but to me the hero of the day was last-minute choice goalkeeper, Shaka Hislop, who denied the Swedes goals in numerous occasions and from point blank range! The Swedes took control of the game early on in the first half, exploiting debutant nerves. Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic threatened the T&T goal only to see their shots either stopped or sail to safety. T&T’s first chance came in the 33^rd minute of the first half as Carlos Edwards let one loose which Rami Shasban saved.

A minute into the second half saw Avery John booked a second time to confirm his dismissal for this game and the next. One would have now expected total annihilation of the small footballing nation, but woe betide to whoever imagined such an outcome, as the Soca Warriors stood their ground tall and proud to deny Sweden a victory from any of their countless chances. At the helm of this victory is my pick of the game, Shaka Hislop. So instrumental was he in this game, that had he not played T&T might have suffered a big defeat. Kudos to the back four of T&T as they held off the likes of Larsson, Ibrahimovic, and co. This was for me easily the best game of the cup so far since it showed what true heart is.

Argentina vs. Ivory Coast

Hernan Crespo 24’
Javier Saviola 38’
Didier Drogba 82’

The first game of the famed “Group of Death” lived up to be a tough challenge for both teams involved as Argentina were looking to wipe memories of a dismal World Cup showing in the 2002 fixture and the Ivorians were looking to make their mark. Just fifteen minutes into the first half as Roberto Ayala’s header hit the inside of the post and the Argentineans were looking to claim the goal as they thought it cleared the line. Closer observance of the replays showed otherwise and a good decision was awarded by the linesman. Nine minutes after that Argentina felt vindicated as Riquelme’s set-piece found the head of Drogba and it fell softly and unguarded in the six-yard box waiting to be pounced on by Hernan Crespo who struck home. Drogba set up Kader Keita for a diving header as the attempt was easily stopped by the Argentine keeper. In the 38^th minute Saviola was fed by Riquelme as they beat the offside trap doubling Argentina’s lead.

Argentina came out in the second half clearly looking to preserve their lead by knocking the ball around and keeping it in possession. The crowd was not impressed by the antics as they let them know. Riquelme came close to adding a third in the 55^th minute from a free-kick as his shot whistled past the post. The last twenty minutes of the game turned the way of the Ivorian’s as they pressed harder and harder and won possession but their efforts weren’t rewarded until the 82^nd minute when the cut down the lead by one goal and that is the way how the game ended much to the dismay of the African team.