:England play out exciting draw with Sweden
England's Owen is stretchered off the pitch
By Trevor Huggins
COLOGNE (Reuters) - England drew 2-2 with Sweden on Tuesday to earn a second round World Cup clash with Ecuador while the Swedes go through to face hosts Germany.
England, who lost striker Michael Owen to a knee injury after just two minutes, took the lead with a stunning 34th minute volley by Joe Cole from over 30 metres.
Sweden levelled with a Marcus Allback header in the 51st minute and were unlucky not to knock England off the top of Group B after creating a string of chances.
Steven Gerrard put England back in front with a header from a Cole cross four minutes from time, but Henrik Larsson brought the scores level again after a long throw deceived the defence.
England were rattled by the sight of Owen leaving on a stretcher and struggled to keep possession for the opening 20 minutes against a combative Sweden side, who have not lost to them in 12 matches stretching back 38 years.
"We did well in the first half but then Sweden did better in the second half and they scored from two set pieces," said England's Swedish coach Sven-Goran Erikssson. "Of course, we have to do better because we cannot concede goals like that."
Substitute Gerrard added: "The most important thing today was to top the group. We wanted to keep the same tempo in the second half. From the bench it looked really difficult because they were pushing for the goal."
Sweden midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg agreed that it was a tough match. "It was quite a tight game. "They (England) must be very disappointed. It will be great to play them (Germany)."
Ljungberg was a threatening presence while defender Teddy Lucic sent in a superb angled drive from a corner that was charged down by Frank Lampard.
Wayne Rooney, in his first World Cup start after a substitutes' appearance in last week's 2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago, helped redress the balance with some nice passes and a shot that ricocheted off Lucic.
WONDER GOAL
It was nothing compared to the subsequent candidate for one of the goals of the tournament.
Cole controlled a headed clearance by Niclas Alexandersson with his chest and struck a long-range shot that keeper Andreas Isaksson could only touch on to the inside of his post as it flew in.
However, the sense of euphoria among England fans and the team's clean sheets at these finals lasted only six minutes after the break.
Tobias Linderoth curled over a corner from the right and Allback's glancing header beat keeper Paul Robinson and Ashley Cole on the line.
Sweden were nearly 2-1 up minutes later when Ljungberg's header was parried on to the underside of the bar by Robinson in a goalmouth melee.
Eriksson replaced Rio Ferdinand with Sol Campbell in central defence but the next chance fell to Sweden when captain Olof Mellberg hit the top of the bar.
Sweden had a nervous England side on the ropes and were clearly looking to deliver the knockout blow, prompting Eriksson to swap Rooney for Gerrard.
Gerrard promptly cleared off the line with his first touch after a Kim Kallstrom effort and then put England ahead in the 85th minute with a firm header from a far post Cole cross.
But the drama was not over as Larsson got the final touch on a long throw by Erik Edman in the 90th to salvage a draw and Sweden's unbeaten run against England stretching back to 1968.
Highlights:
90+3 FULLTIME - England 2 Sweden 2
90 SUBSTITUTE - (Sweden) Daniel Andersson brought on to replace Linderoth moments after the goal.
90 GOAL - SWEDEN 2 ENGLAND 2
A long throw from Edman is touched in by Larsson for a last-minute dramatic equaliser.
87 YELLOW CARD - Ljungberg is book for a nasty lunge on Joe Cole.
85 GOAL - SWEDEN 1 ENGLAND 2
Gerrard heads perfectly from a Joe Cole cross to the far post and Andreas Isaksson is powerless to stop it.
83 YELLOW CARD - Niclas Alexandersson is booked for a late tackle on Joe Cole.
76 YELLOW CARD - Owen Hargreaves booked for deliberate handball.
74 SUBSTITUTE - (Sweden) Scorer Allback makes way for Johan Elmander.
72 ACTION - Gerrard's first job is to clear a stinging drive from Kim Kallstrom off his goalline.
69 SUBSTITUTE - (Sweden) A tiring Rooney is replaced by Steven Gerrard.
62 ACTION - Campbell makes a desperate and decisive block from Larsson as Sweden threaten on the break.
59 ACTION - Sweden captain Olof Mellberg hooks on to the top of the bar after a Linderoth corner causes a flutter of panic in the English defence again.
56 SUBSTITUTE - (Sweden) Sol Campbell comes on to replace a limping Rio Ferdinand at the back as England's injury worries mount.
55 ACTION - England keeper Paul Robinson pushes Ljunberg's bullet header against the crossbar after a Kim Kallstrom corner.
54 SUBSTITUTE - (Sweden) Mattias Jonson makes way for Christian Wilhelmsson on the right.
51 GOAL - Sweden 1 England 1
Sweden equalise from a corner on their left, Marcus Allback leaping to head a Tobias Linderoth delivery past Cole on the goalline. It is the 2,000th goal scored in World Cup finals.
45+1 HALFTIME - Sweden 0 England 1
45 ACTION - Lampard tries to chip the keeper from inside the area but it is easily caught.
39 ACTION - A superb last-ditch tackle by Rio Ferdinand halts a marauding run into the England penalty box by Freddie Ljungberg.
35 ACTION - Mattias Jonson blasts wide moments after England's goal after a clever lay-off from Henrik Larsson as Sweden push for an immediate response.
34 GOAL - SWEDEN 0 ENGLAND 1
Joe Cole scores an extraordinary goal, chesting the ball down from over 30 metres out and volleying perfectly into the top right corner.
29 ACTION - Ashley Cole's tenacity wins England a free kick on the left side of the penalty box which David Beckham fires direct for goal and it is punched out for a corner.
25 ACTION - Rooney again gets behind the Swedish defence but his shot is brilliantly blocked by Teddy Lucic.
12 ACTION - Lampard, yet again, gets on the end of an England attack, Wayne Rooney feeding him in the box but his header flies well wide.
4 SUBSTITUTE - Owen is taken down the tunnel on a stretcher and Peter Crouch, who is on a yellow card, takes over up front.
3 ACTION - Frank Lampard fires just wide from outside the area with a speculative effort for England.
2 ACTION - Michael Owen of England goes down clutching his right knee and looks set to be substituted.
0 KICKOFF - Sweden kick off.
.png)
