Mellberg started at centre-back for Sweden and was rarely placed under any meaningful pressure by Trinidad & Tobago in Dortmund but the European side were unable to secure the victory many took as given. Former Villan Dwight Yorke was influential in the midfield anchor role, but it was the performance of West Ham's Shaka Hislop that caught the eye as Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic failed to find a breakthrough.
Goals were more forthcoming in Gelsenkirchen where Ecuador earned a surprise 2-0 victory against Poland in Group A. De la Cruz proved a lively presence on the wing but it was another player to have graced the Premiership, Agustín Delgado, that made the difference. The former Southampton man teed up the first for Carlos Tenorio before adding a second himself late on. Poland came closest when Ireneusz Jelen and Pawel Brozek hit the woodwork with fierce shots in the second half but only after De la Cruz had threatened to score the goal of the tournament, running from deep inside his own half and weaving into the Polish penalty area but he was tackled before he could shoot.
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