WORLD CUP \ Saturday's soccer games

Trinidad 0, Sweden 0
DORTMUND, Germany -- Shaka Hislop, Dwight Yorke and Trinidad and Tobago did more than just show up at the World Cup. Despite playing nearly the entire second half a man down, the Soca Warriors played like they belong on soccer's biggest stage. Hislop turned aside countless chances from heavily favored Sweden, and Yorke provided a steadying influence on a besieged defense to help Trinidad post the first real surprise of this World Cup. Sweden held a decided edge in experience and world-class talent, as well as the one-man advantage after Avery John was sent off in the 46th minute. But the Swedes couldn't end their opening-match funk. Sweden, which has more players on its current squad from the 2002 World Cup than any other team in Germany, is winless in seven opening matches since 1958, with two losses and five ties. Trinidad and Tobago, the twin-island Caribbean nation with a population of 1.3 million, was the smallest country ever to reach the World Cup and needed to beat Bahrain in a playoff just to get here.
England 1, Paraguay 0
FRANKFURT, Germany -- Unable to find the net on its own, England used an own-goal for an early lead and held on to beat Paraguay. It was not pretty, and the English were helped by Paraguay's reluctance to attack. Still, it was a victory that will have England's boisterous fans celebrating -- at least until its next match. England got a perfect start when Paraguay captain Carlos Gamarra headed David Beckham's curling free kick into his own net in the fourth minute. That was the only time the ball found the net, but it was enough to secure England's first opening-match win in a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup.
Argentina 2, Ivory Coast 1
HAMBURG, Germany -- Hernan Crespo and Javier Saviola took advantage of some shaky defense to score first-half goals, and Argentina beat Ivory Coast in the first game of what many think is the toughest World Cup group. Didier Drogba, a key to Chelsea's consecutive English Premier League titles, got Ivory Coast's goal in the 82nd minute, just missing a header, and then converting from in front after the ball was played back in. Argentina won its fourth straight World Cup opener and next plays Serbia-Montenegro on Friday, when Ivory Coast meets the Netherlands. The Dutch face Serbia in their Group C opener today. Lionel Messi, Argentina's rising 18-year-old star who plays for European club champion Barcelona, did not get into the game, which featured entertaining, end-to-end action.
Associated Press
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