Nuremberg, June 15 (Xinhua) England qualified for the knockout stage of the World Cup after labouring to beat Trinidad and Tobago 2-0, thanks to two late goals from Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard in their Group B match at the Franken Stadion here Thursday.
Crouch, the 1.98 m tall Liverpool striker, broke the deadlock in the 83rd minute, jumping high above Trinidad and Tobago defender Brent Sancho to head home captain David Beckham's cross from the right.
Steven Gerrard made it 2-0 in the final minute when Frank Lampard won a free kick and took it quickly to put England on the attack.
Gerrard unleashed an unstoppable left-foot shot from outside the penalty area on the right that left goalkeeper Shaka Hislop with no chance.
With a group game to spare against Sweden, and following Ecuador's win over Costa Rica earlier in the day in Group A, England will face either hosts Germany or Ecuador in the knockout stage.
England got more and more frustrated as they found it hard to put the ball into the Trinidad and Tobago net. They missed several chances though they dominated the match from the start.
Their best chance came in the 44th minute, when Beckham sent a perfect cross for the unmarked Crouch. But he volleyed the cross well wide with nobody near him.
England survived a scare in the injury time of the first half, with John Terry scooping a volley off the line after Carlos Edwards had beat England goalkeeper Paul Robinson to a cross and Stern John raced in looking to keep the ball over the line.
Wayne Rooney, who missed the first game due to a foot injury, was finally sent on in the place of Michael Owen in the 58th minute.
--Xinhua