England Wins Opener on an Own Goal

England's Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole and David Beckham celebrate after an own goal by Paraguay's Carlos Gamarra during Group B on Saturday in Frankfurt. (Ben Radford - Getty Images)

FRANKFURT, June 10 -- The arrival of English fans on foreign soil to support their national soccer team often overshadows the presence of the international superstars themselves. For all of the posh cachet of matinee-idol midfielder David Beckham, for instance, the regular blokes traveling to Germany for a World Cup holiday command the most significant local attention, given the English history of hooliganism and outlandish behavior while abroad.

An estimated 65,000 English fans filled the streets of Frankfurt on Saturday, with roughly 10,000 among the 48,000 who saw England's businesslike, 1-0 victory over Paraguay at Commerzbank Arena in the Group B opener. Early Saturday morning they descended near the main train station, draped in flags with faces painted, but trouble never materialized.

The English team didn't face much trouble, either, on this sticky afternoon, taking the lead in the third minute, assuming the vast majority of possession and managing its lead well under the second-half sun. The goal came when Beckham dropped a free kick from deep on the left side of midfield into the middle of the penalty area, where Paraguay captain Carlos Gamarra misdirected it into the net. The rest of the day was largely celebratory for the English, who draped flags from all available rafter space .

"The crowd was fantastic," English Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said. "I looked around and it seemed that the whole stadium was from England."

The fans began arriving midweek and quickly commandeered an Irish bar across the street from the train station. From there they could be heard chanting while waving flags, already brimming with anticipation of a match still days away. The eyes of law enforcement have never been far away. About 100 English police officers were working with German authorities in the downtown Frankfurt area, with riot police, private security personnel and German soldiers on alert as well.

Friday night two English fans were arrested following fights, and locals said they heard reports that 10 fans were rounded up by English authorities and sent home. The British government and the sport's governing body in England, the Football Association, has strict regulations prohibiting fans involved in past hooliganism from traveling abroad for games, in an effort to weed out potential threats before they can depart.

The area directly surrounding the stadium Saturday looked as much like Liverpool or Manchester as anywhere else. Red and white was everywhere, anthems blared from tents and Paraguay's contingent was overpowered from the onset.

The own goal only made it worse, then in the sixth minute goalkeeper Justo Villar was forced out of the game with an injury, leaving Paraguay two substitutions for the rest of the match. Paraguay was sloppy and indecisive for much of the game, continually giving the ball away, while the English came close on several long shots from midfield. But by the 70th minute Eriksson could see the 80-degree temperatures taking their toll, and Paraguay's best opportunities came late, although never really requiring goalkeeper Paul Robinson to do anything dramatic.

"The heat was pretty tough to deal with," said English midfielder Frank Lampard, named man of the match. "We suffered in the second half, but we still defended really well."

Said Paraguay Coach Anibal Ruiz: "While we cannot be too happy, we have to accept that we were up against a very hard team with some great individuals."

Eriksson was taking no chances with the slim lead. He pulled striker Michael Owen, still not fully fit after a long layoff with a broken foot, for midfielder Stewart Downing in the 56th minute, moving midfielder Joe Cole up to the Owen's spot. Cole then came off for defensive midfielder Owen Hargreaves in the 83rd minute, with the English adopting a defensive posture to kill off the game.

It was about then that the crowd began chanting for injured striker Wayne Rooney, recovering from six weeks off with a broken foot, to come off the subs bench, but there was enough to savor this day. The return of their 20-year-old wunderkind will have to wait for later in the tournament.

"Rooney is a great player," Beckham said. "But this team is spectacular."