The Mangler On Sports

Group B: England, Sweden, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago

History: Since winning the championship at home in 1966, England has had little to celebrate. Mainly, they have been the victims of numerous quarter-final and second round exits. They nearly made it back to the final in 1990, but lost to long-time nemesis (West) Germany in a penalty shootout in the semi-final. In 2002 the English were dismissed by Brazil in the quarter-final. Sweden fielded quality squads in the earlier half of the century, making it all the way to the final when they played host in 1958, where Brazil defeated them. Successes were few from that time on until a third place finish in 1994. The most recent World Cup was going smoothly for the Swedes until a 2nd round upset at the hands of Senegal, when Henri Camara scored a golden goal. Paraguay has advanced to the second round in each of the last two tournaments, losing 1-0 to both France in 1998, and Germany in 2002. Apart from that, Paraguay has failed to qualify for the final tournament the majority of the time. Trinidad & Tobago will participate in their first World Cup, perhaps the most surprising of all the qualifiers.

England: The English have many times arrived at the World Cup full of hope and expectations, only to bow out early. They hoped that it would all change this year with striker Wayne Rooney leading the way. But Rooney injured his foot late in the Premiership season, and it was feared his World Cup, and England's chance for victory, may have been ended. But he appears to be recuperating faster than expected, and could even be on the field June 10th when England plays their first match. He will surely have to be present later if not sooner, if England hopes to go far in the tournament. England is stacked in the midfield with the world class Steven Gerrard in top form, accompanied by Frank Lampard and David Beckham who is looking to finally perform as he is capable on the world stage. Chelsea man John Terry will anchor the back four for Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad. The pieces are in place for a deep run in Germany, but only if Rooney can quickly regain his form.

Sweden: This is a team that comes to Germany solid at all positions, and has the ability to go as far as their "big three", they being Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovich up front and Fredrik Ljunberg in the midfield, will take them. Sweden has consistently performed better and better since not qualifying for France '98, and this could be their best opportunity to make it back to the semi-final, where they lost in 1994. Sweden typically plays an attack-oriented style, meaning scoring machine Ibrahimovich could run wild if opponents give him the opportunity. The defense may not be as strong as manager Lars Langerback would prefer, but it will still be servicable with veterans Olof Mellberg and Teddy Lucic. This will surely be Larsson's last World Cup; he would love to go out the way he came in back at USA '94.

Paraguay: Many people will concede this group to England and Sweden, but Paraguay should not be overlooked. The South Americans have quietly made it out of the group stage in the last two World Cups, and there is no reason to expect them to not provide stiff competition this time around. Their squad represents a nice mix of veterans, like Denis Caniza and Carlos Gamarra on defence, and Jose Cardozo up front. In total, eleven players named to the team have been to at least one World Cup. Bayern Munich attacker Roque Santa Cruz should feel at home in Germany, and will be called upon to provide scoring for Paraguay. Underdogs they may be, but dont be surprised if Paraguay unseats England or Sweden to advance.

Trinidad & Tobago: These guys will be the biggest long-shot in the entire tournament, but coach Leo Beenhakker doesn't expect his squad to just roll over and die. T & T scored a victory over Mexico in qualifiers, so they are capable beating one of the big boys if they play flawless football. The most noteworthy playmaker is 37 year old Dwight Yorke. If T & T's defenders all bring their "A" game to the pitch they have the ability to subdue attackers and keep games close, but that is a big "if". We've seen upsets in the past, but T & T advancing to the elimination round would truly be the biggest of them all.

Match to Watch: England v Sweden, June 20th. Sweden has had England's number whenever these two sides meet up, unbeaten in their last ten fixtures against them. If all goes according to plan, the winner of this game should win the group. But should Paraguay gain a result against either squad leading up to this final group-stage match, implications could be much greater.

Prediction: 1) England, 2) Sweden, 3) Paraguay, 4) Trinidad & Tobago. Games will be played tightly with England coming out a narrow winner. Paraguay comes close, but Sweden just barely edges them out for second spot. The fact that the tournament is taking place in Europe gives the European teams the advantage. T & T scores a goal and the tiny country goes wild.