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| June 17, 2006 | Saturday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 20, 1427 |
Sweden wake up late to eliminate Paraguay
Sweden 1 Paraguay 0
BERLIN, June 16: Sweden midfielder Freddie Ljungberg grabbed a priceless late goal to clinch a 1-0 Group B win that eliminated Paraguay at the World Cup on Thursday.
Ljungberg headed the ball into the bottom corner in the 89th minute after a right wing cross was headed back across goal by substitute Marcus Allback to hand Sweden the points.
Ljungberg almost added a second in injury time with a long-range shot that Aldo Bobadilla pushed away for a corner as Sweden looked to finish off the plucky South Americans.
“For much of the match we had the same problem as before,” said Ljungberg. “We created a lot of chances but couldn't score. Fortunately this time we ended up scoring.”
Paraguay coach Anibal Ruiz, visibly upset, said: “There are no excuses, we just couldn't reach our goal. I'm deeply hurt”.
He then declined to answer any more questions from reporters.
Bobadilla had produced several quality saves to keep Paraguay in the game but it was in vain as Sweden moved on to four points behind England who top the group after qualifying with six points by beating Trinidad & Tobago 2-0 earlier.
Before the goal Allback had come closest to breaking the deadlock but his shot on the turn 10 minutes from time was well saved by Bobadilla, who was in outstanding form.
Roared on by a huge contingent of yellow-clad supporters among the 72,000 crowd at the Olympiastadion, the Swedes had piled on the pressure at the outset.
Midfielder Kim Kallstrom, promoted to the starting lineup after a strong performance as a substitute in Sweden's first match against Trinidad, which ended goalless, was a frequent threat to the South Americans' defence.
In the best moment of the first half, he forced an outstanding diving save from Aldo Bobadilla with a powerful shot from just outside the penalty area.
Paraguay tried hard but were unable to create many clear-cut chances.
Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic had an excellent opportunity to give Sweden the lead just before halftime but his weak shot from close range was easily gathered by Bobadilla.
The Paraguayan keeper faced a tougher test in the 54th minute when Henrik Larsson curled a free kick round the wall but Bobadilla got down quickly to push the ball wide.
Allback, a halftime substitute for Ibrahimovic, lobbed Bobadilla five minutes later only for Denis Caniza to hook the ball away just before it crossed the line.
Scorer:
Sweden -- Freddie Ljungberg 89.
Halftime: 0-0.
Teams:
SWEDEN (3-5-2): 1-Andreas Isaksson; 3-Olof Mellberg, 4-Teddy Lucic, 5-Erik Edman; 6-Tobias Linderoth, 7-Niclas Alexandersson, 9-Fredrik Ljungberg, 21-Christian Wilhelmsson (18-Mattias Jonson 68), 16-Kim Kallstrom (17-Johan Elmander 86); 10-Zlatan Ibrahimovic (20-Marcus Allback 46), 11-Henrik Larsson.
PARAGUAY (4-4-2): 22-Aldo Bobadilla; 21-Denis Caniza, 5-Julio Cesar Caceres, 4-Carlos Gamarra, 2-Jorge Nunez; 6-Carlos Bonet (8-Edgar Barreto 81), 10-Roberto Acuna, 13-Carlos Paredes, 16-Cristian Riveros (19-Julio Dos Santos 62); 9-Roque Santa Cruz (20-Dante Lopez 65), 18-Nelson Haedo Valdez.
Referee: Lubos Michel (Slovakia).—Reuters
Group B standings
(Tabulated under played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):
England 2 2 0 0 3 0 6
Sweden 2 1 1 0 1 0 4
Trinidad
& Tobago 2 0 1 1 0 2 1
Paraguay 2 0 0 2 0 2 0
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