England let a win slip away in a 2-2 draw with Sweden in their final Group B match, 20th June. The result means England will face Ecuador in the last 16.
England took the lead when Joe Cole hit a sensational shot from 35 yards. However, Marcus Allback equalised soon after the break when he headed home from a right-wing corner.Steven Gerrard looked to have given England the victory when he headed in Joe Cole's 85th-minute cross, but Henrik Larsson levelled for Sweden in injury time.
The result was spoiled by a seemingly serious knee injury to striker Michael Owen, who was stretchered off in the first minute if the match.
In other matches on Tuesday, Germany gained a convincing 3-0 win over Ecuador, Poland beat Costa Rica 2-1, and Paraguay earned a 2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago.
The whole of Germany is reportedly caught in football fever with the knock-out phase of the tournament about to begin at the weekend. Hundreds of German churches, ministries, fellowships and church groups are taking part in outreach efforts during the biggest sporting event of the year.
The various youth ministries and Christian groups and churches are hosting a series of evangelistic outreach events during the event under the leadership of one of Germany’s leading sports ministries, SRS Pro Sportler, an evangelistic ministry to athletes in Germany.In order to make the most of the opportunity provided by the World Cup, the churches and church groups have united together to form a new network which includes national and international Christian sports ministries under the name of Kickoff2006.
The sports ministries of both the Lutheran and Catholic Churches are involved in the sports outreach initiatives running under the title “Kickoff2006: Kick-start your faith”, which aim to promote tolerance and unity between cultures.
Kickoff2006 has been set up to facilitate the involvement of local churches and denominations, ministries and communities in outreach, as well as to serve the spiritual needs of athletes and spectators to Germany during the event.
