VS
England meet Paraguay on June 10 in a Group B encounter at Frankfurt at 3:00 PM German time (9:00 AM EST)
England- Paraguay FIFA rankings/ WC odds 10/ 7.5:1, 33/ 201:1
World Cup record
Matches/ Wins/Draws/Losses/Goals for/Goals against/Goal Diff/Points/
England 50/ 22/ 15/ 13/ 68/ 45/ 13 / 81
Paraguay 19/ 5/ 7/ 7/ 25/ 34/ -9/ 22/
Paraguay World Cup history
This is Paraguay’s 7th World Cup.
Their record: 1930: First round exit; 1950: First round exit; 1958 First round exit
1986: Second round exit; 1998: Second round exit; 2002: Second round exit
Paraguay has always played under the shadow of its more illustrous neighbor, Uruguay as far as the World Cup goes, as the Uruguayans have won it all twice. But in recent World Cups it has been Paraguay that has been making the qualifying rounds leaving Uruguay behind.
Their record in the South American zone was 8 wins, 4 draws, and 6 losses. They beat out Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Bolivia, Venezuela and Colombia to book a berth to the World Cup. Their most famous players are Jose Luis Chilavert, their goalkeeper over the last two WC. He also was their main free kick specialist as well as penalty kick taker. In fact, he was a one man demolition crew. And there is Julio Cesar Romero aka Romerito named to Pele’s 125 all time greats in soccer history.
England’s World Cup history
Everybody has heard of England’s celebrated and often controversial final against W. Germany that they won 4-2 in extra time, to win the World Cup in 1966. SIr Alfred Ramsey was the coach and Bobby Moore the captain. Geoff Hurst scored a memorable hat trick and Gordon Banks made some spectacular saves. England for all its prowess has had a chequered record at the World Cup. Their biggest stumbling blocks have proved to be Germany and Argentina. Everyone remembers the infamous expulsion of David Beckham in the 1998 World Cup after his altercation with Diego Simeone of Argentina.
Their best showing after the 1966 World Cup was finishing fourth in the 1990 World Cup behind Italy, and winners W. Germany and runners up Argentina. They lost to W. Germany in the semi-finals after a heartbreaking penalty shootout, 4-3.
1950: First round exit; 1958: First round exit; 1966: Champions; 1970: Quarterfinal exit; 1982: Second round exit; 1986: Quarterfinal exit; 1990: 4th place; 1998: Second round exit; 2002: Quarterfinal exit.
In their 2006 qualifiers England won with an almost perfect record of 8 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw.
Key match up:
The attacking English midfield vs the Paraguayan defence
The English in this World Cup have the best attacking midfield in this World Cup. In fact, the midfielders have scored more goals than the strikers Peter Crouch and Michael Owen. Leading the way is Frank Lampard of Chelsea, Steven Gerrard of Liverpool, and Joe Cole of Chelsea. And of course there is Real Madrid’s David Beckham and England’s captain, who George Best famously said of “He (Beckham) cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle and he doesn’t score many goals. Apart from that he’s all right.”
Wayne Rooney is out. Sven Goran will start Peter Crouch and Michael Owen playing in a 4-4-2.
The Paraguayan’s are known for their stubborn and obdurate defence and they will have to dig deep to keep the English midfield at bay. The onus falls on their veteran defenders Carlos Gamarra, Julio Cesar Caceres, Denis Caviza, and Paulo Da Silva. The midfield led by Edgar Barreto, Diego Gavilan, and Julio Dos Santos will probably have to fall back to help the defence.
Their lone threat at forward is Roque Santa Cruz who plays for Bayern Munich. Look for long balls from the Paraguayan midfield or defence to Roque to occasionally test the English defence led by John Terry and Ashley Cole.
Key player stats
Paraguay
Roque Santa Cruz (striker) : 13 goals in 41 internationals
Edgar Barreto (midfielder): 14 internationals
Carlos Gavilan (midfielder): 38 internationals
Julio Dos Santos (midfiedler):1 goal in 7 internationals
Carlos Gamarra (defender): 11 goals in 105 internationals
Denis Caniza (defender): 72 internationals.
Justo Villar (goalkeeper): 38 internationals
Coach: Anibel Ruiz
Nickname: Guarani
England
Michael Owen (striker) 36 goals in 77 internationals
Peter Crouch (strilker) 5 goals in 7 internationals
Joe Cole (midfielder) 5 goals in 35 internationals
Steven Gerrard (midfielder) 7 goals in 41 internationals
Frank Lampard (midfielder) 11 goals in 40 internationals
David Beckham (midfielder) 26 goals in 89 internationals
John Terry (defender) 1 goal in 25 internationas.
Ashley Cole (defender) 46 internationals.
Paul Robinson (Goal keeper) 21 internationals
Coach: Sven Goran Erickson
Nickname: The Three Lions
Paraguay was beaten 3-0 by England last they met at the 1986 World Cup.
Best of luck to both teams!!