Lacklustre England leave it late

Lacklustre England left it late against Trinidad and Tobago to seal a place in the FIFA World Cup knockout stages with a 2-0 win which saw Wayne Rooney make his first appearance since breaking his metatarsal at the end of April.

Gerrard strike
Having faded in their Group B opener against Paraguay, the onus was on England to raise their game against the Caribbean side but they failed to do so and needed Peter Crouch's header seven minutes from the end to turn the match. Steven Gerrard then secured the points with a stunning drive in added time but it failed to gloss over an otherwise disappointing performance, with Sven Göran-Eriksson's team struggling to break down the side that held Sweden to a goalless draw at the weekend.

John threat
Indeed, it was Trinidad and Tobago who had come closest to scoring, as only John Terry's last-gasp clearance denied Stern John a shock breakthrough on the cusp of the interval. The Coventry City FC striker had threatened midway through the half as England were limited to shots from distance, although Crouch should have done better when blazing David Beckham's cross wide despite being unmarked. Frank Lampard, Michael Owen and Crouch all went close in the second half, when Rooney emerged as a substitute, but England's afternoon looked like ending in frustration until their late surge.