In a stark contrast to England’s first game, Mr. Roboto was not taken out of his game by the center referee. Even though T&T came into the game on a high note after a tie with Sweden, and had more chances than England early in this game, Crouch came through in the end, going over the T&T defender for a crushing header into the back of the net. No robot dance followed, but a big strike by Steven Gerrard sealed the deal for a 2-0 win. It was really a crushing defeat for T&T who had a chance to be up several goals by the time Crouch scored, but just could not get the ball in the back of the net.
CROUCH Peter (83′)
GERRARD Steven (91+’)
England, which has stumbled through their first two matches, has secured a spot in the second round. It appears they may have to beat Sweden to take first place and avoid Germany in the group of 16, though the way Ecuador has been playing, neither matchup will be easy.