England looks to take command in Group B

NUREMBERG, Germany, June 14 (UPI) -- England escaped the heat and Paraguay in its 2006 World Cup first game and now faces heat of a different sort in fired-up Trinidad and Tobago.

England and Trinidad and Tobago meet Thursday in the middle game of Group B round-robin play in Nuremberg. After the first matches last Saturday, England held on to its favorite role in the group, but Trinidad's surprising draw with Sweden puts the rest of Group B in a different light.

"We fought hard for each other, but we didn't really play a great game," said Trinidad striker Cornell Glen. "Hopefully we play better in our next match, but to not play your best and still get a result is a very good sign."

England's players admitted the midday heat Saturday in Frankfurt affected their play. The only goal in the game was an own-goal off the foot of David Beckham that deflected off the head of Paraguay's Carlos Gamarra and into the net four minutes into the contest. After that, it was just hang on for England.

England's Rio Ferdinand said: "Three points is the most important thing. We wanted to start the tournament well and a draw or a loss would not have been good enough."

A win Thursday would leave England with a commanding six-point total heading in the final pair of Group B games next Tuesday.