England

1-0

Paraguay

Gamarra og 3

 

 


2006 World Cup Finals, Group B
2pm (BST), Saturday 10 June 2006
Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt

John Terry says England are determined to top their group after opening their World Cup campaign with a victory over Paraguay.

The 1-0 triumph in Frankfurt leaves England top of Group B and two points ahead of the rest after Sweden drew 0-0 with Trinidad & Tobago.

It also means the Three Lions can qualify for the second round by beating Trinidad in Nuremberg on Thursday. But Terry is aiming even higher - especially as the runners-up in Group B could end up facing hosts Germany in the second round if they top Group A.

He said: “It was an encouraging win against Paraguay and that means it's a great start for us. We watched the opening game and I thought Germany looked good, but this World Cup is all about ourselves.

“Topping the group is our priority because we want to go as far as we can in this tournament.

“We know we have to improve and we will, but this was about getting three points over everything else and that's what we have done.”

Terry admits England’s performance against Paraguay wasn’t the best he has ever seen, but there was plenty to be pleased with - not least the result.

He said: “It's so difficult at the start of a tournament. We have seen the dangers in the past and that's why we are so happy with the win. All the games are difficult. This is the World Cup, all the top players in the world are here and they are all up for it, so we have to be happy with any win.

“We did find the heat difficult, especially for the first five minutes of the second half, but we hung on and that's the main thing.”

Terry was delighted with the goal that won it for England - another superb free-kick from David Beckham that skimmed off defender Carlos Gamarra’s head before going in.

He said: “David Beckham's delivery is fantastic. Some of the balls he puts in are always going to cause problems. It's our aim to try and get on the end of them and as a defender you don't want them coming in behind you.

“He left their defender with no choice other than to get something on it and he could only head it towards his own goal. It's so dangerous and it's worked for us again.”

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