Soccer: Paraguay respect England but don't fear them

MUNICH - Paraguay will show England respect but have no fear when they meet them in their opening Group B World Cup soccer clash on Saturday.

"We know what to expect and England play much the same way most of the time," said striker Roque Santa Cruz today, when he declared himself fit following tendonitis in a knee.

"They are a very strong team, very good players and very good in midfield and in the air, too," he added.

"But we have worked very hard, we have prepared well and we want to make sure they know they have been in a hard game."

He said the Paraguayans knew a lot about all the England players.

"Everyone knows about England and about Wayne Rooney, too," he said. "But England will be strong without him. We know that."

Asked if he had ever seen a player like the 6ft 7in (2.04 metres) England striker Peter Crouch before, he said: "No, not in football - only in the NBA!" He said he was looking forward to a good physical battle with the England defence. "I know what I will have to do," he said.

Midfielder Edgar Barreto said he expected the game to be tight and to be decided in midfield where, he said, both sides are very strong.

"England have (Steve) Gerrard and (Frank) Lampard and they are both fantastic players but they like to attack and that will give us some spaces to use behind them," he said.

"I think that is where we will have our chance. We have good players to exploit that."

Coach Anibal Ruiz said the opening clash was a very big game for everyone associated with Paraguay but should not overshadow the Latin Americans' bid to progress from Group B to the second round. They also face Sweden and Trinidad and Tobago.

"We want to do well against England but our main ambition is to do better at this World Cup than we did before," he said.

"We have a good team, so we have a chance and want to take it. Everyone must do their best for that to happen."

The Paraguayan delegation's vice-president Juan Angel Napout said he believed they had their best-ever international team and had a chance of beating England.

"We have four players in their third World Cup finals, five in their second and some very good young players. This is our best team," he explained.

"Logic says that we don't have a chance against England but football is not always a logical sport. Anything can happen and we hope that it will be a very good game against England."

- REUTERS