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SAITAMA, Japan (Ticker) -- Sweden kept its hex on England. Niclas Alexandersson equalized 14 minutes into the second half as Sweden extended its unbeaten streak against England to 10 matches, working out a 1-1 draw in their Group F clash. Despite scoring first through Sol Campbell in the 22nd minute, England still has not defeated Sweden since May 1968, posting a 3-0-7 mark during a span of 34 years. "One reason is that we have a lot of players playing in Britain," Sweden co-coach Lars Lagerback said. "They know the character of the players they are up against and that's an advantage for us." Sweden also is 2-0-4 against England in World Cup or European Championship competition, combining tournament and qualifying play. After registering a pair of scoreless draw during qualification for Italia '90, the Scandinavians posted a 2-1 triumph over England when Sweden hosted Euro '92. Six years later, the Swedes beat the English by the same scoreline during qualification for Euro 2000. David Beckham, the England captain who played his first match in nearly two months after recovering from a broken foot, proved his value to his team, firing a pinpoint corner for Campbell to head home. He was replaced by Kieron Dyer in the 63rd minute. In a match played at the hectic pace of an English Premier League contest, England seemed to be in the Swedish half for most of the opening 45 minutes. Ashley Cole had England's best chance to double its lead, rocketing a 37th-minute shot which was stopped by goalkeeper Magnus Hedman. But the Swedes dominated the second half and their effort was rewarded when England right back Danny Mills cleared the ball only as far as Alexandersson at the edge of the box. The Everton midfielder alertly fired the ball past a scrambling English defense. "We had the chance to do it, but we didn't play well in the second half," said England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who is a Swede. "It's the first game, we didn't win, we didn't lose. And now we have to look forward with great faith and hopefully we will play for more than 45 minutes against Argentina." In fact, England have goalkeeper David Seaman to thank for earning a valuable point in the so-called "Group of Death." Defender Teddy Lucic unleashed a 61st-minute blast, forcing the Arsenal keeper to dive to his right to make the save. Seaman thwarted Lucic again three minutes later, blocking his shot from inside the box after star striker Henrik Larsson split the English defense with a stunning long-range pass. Seaman's Arsenal teammate, Sweden's Fredrik Ljungberg started despite struggling with a groin injury. However, Swedish captain Patrik Andersson was sidelined after the Barcelona defender picked up an injury in training. Sweden's few first-half chances fell to Marcus Allback. The striker nearly equalized just before halftime but his shot flew just over the crossbar. The clash between two of the most feared goal-scorers in the competition never developed as Sweden's Larsson and England's Michael Owen rarely threatened during the physical duel. |
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