England through to face Danes

Ken Dyer13 April 2012

VOTE: Can England beat Denmark?

Nigeria 0 England 0

England are through to meet Denmark in the second round of the World Cup after drawing with Nigeria in searing heat today.

Sven-Goran Eriksson's team struggled in the debilitating conditions and captain David Beckham said: "It was the most exhausting match I have ever played in."

England have only three days to recover for the clash with Denmark on Saturday in Niigata at 12.30pm BST. Eriksson wanted to finish top of Group F which would have given them an extra day to recover but it is Sweden - who knocked out Argentina in their 1-1 draw in Miyagi - who play Senegal on Sunday.

Beckham said: "It was very humid out there and I'm just pleased to have got through. It wasn' t comfortable because of the heat but we did the job and that's all that matters.

"It was always going to be different to the Argentina game. The atmosphere was good today but the atmosphere against Argentina was something else. We've got an even bigger game ahead of us now but maybe the evening kick-off here will suit us more."

England are now on course for a quarter-final date with Brazil but first they must beat Denmark. The England coach, however, was happy that his side had managed to extricate themselves from what was a devilishly difficult group - even though it took a tedious draw to achieve the desired result.

England's best effort came from Paul Scholes but his 30-yard shot was deflected on to the post by 19-year-old goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.

Eriksson said: "Our first target was to survive the first three matches and we have done that. I am very happy with that. I would not say I would have preferred to have played Senegal in the next round. The African teams keep the ball well and make you run. Denmark, though, have done very well. They have many players with clubs in Europe. They have two good strikers and two very quick wide midfield men."

Former Newcastle striker Jon Dahl Tomasson is the main target man for Denmark - who reached the quarter-finals four years ago before losing 3-2 to Brazil - and has netted four goals in the tournament so far. It will be the second time England have faced Scandinavian opposition after their opening match with Sweden last week.

Eriksson said: "We played very well for one half against Sweden, did very well for almost 90 minutes against Argentina and were okay today." England were exhausted by the end and the worry will be how quickly they can recover before meeting Denmark, who won Group A yesterday by knocking out France. No one looked more tired than Beckham at the end. He reemerged for a warm-down soon after the match but hardly found enough strength to throw his shirt towards his adoring fans before trudging down the tunnel.

Nigeria had their moments in the game today and only top-class defending from Rio Ferdinand and some cool goalkeeping from David Seaman, kept them at bay.

Beckham is confident of England's chances of making further progress. He said: "We are building momentum now. There have been a lot of surprises in this World Cup so far and two of the biggest teams - France and Argentina - have gone out. It does open it up a lot and I'm sure there'll be a few more surprises along the way."

The players will train tomorrow and fly to Niigata on Friday.

Manchester United's Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron spoke of his anguish after his country's exit. "Our dreams have now been trashed following this result, and so I would just like to apologise to the Argentinian people," he said.

It is the first time Argentina have failed to qualify for the second stage of a World Cup finals since 1962.

FULL MATCH REPORT AND REACTION
VOTE: Can England beat Denmark?
England v Nigeria - in pictures
How England's players rated
What the experts said...
How the action unfolded
Pete Clark's armchair view
MORE WORLD CUP NEWS

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