England 2 Sweden 2

Steven Gerrard came off the bench to calm England's nerves and avoid a date with Germany in the second round of the World Cup.

Sven-Goran Eriksson's team were creaking under the pressure of a brave Swedish fightback when Gerrard replaced Wayne Rooney and the first thing the Liverpool skipper did was to stop a certain goal with a clearance off the line.

Then he popped up to head England's second and set up a tie with Ecuador in Stuttgart on Sunday.

It was a thrilling night of high drama in Cologne, which started with an injury to Michael Owen in the first minute. Owen was carried from the arena in agony after suffering a knee injury which looks likely to end his World Cup.

Joe Cole then fired in a 30-yard screamer which would have made Ronaldinho proud as England dominated the first-half.

But the game swung on its head at half-time and England had to hang on with the help of the woodwork for the point which wins them Group B.

Aston Villa reject Marcus Allback wiped-out Cole's opener and Sweden hit the bar twice as England struggled.

Gerrard, rested to protect him from suspension, came on and headed England back in front five minutes from time but Henrik Larsson equalised again for the Swedes in the last minute.

Eriksson's team hung on through stoppage time and won Group B. They have still not beaten Sweden since 1968 but the most important thing was to avoid the Germans, who hammered Ecuador 3-0 earlier in the day.

Cole's strike in the 34th minute rivalled anything scored so far. Mattias Jonson cleared with a looping defensive header and it dropped straight to the Chelsea midfielder who took one touch on his chest before launching a dipping volley.

Andreas Isaksson knew he was in trouble straight away.

The goalkeeper scampered back towards his line and pawed at the ball as it faded away from him. But he could not recover and only helped it into the top corner of the net.

It capped an outstanding first-half display from England. Rooney gave the team the shape Eriksson craves but he ran out of steam and England lost their rhythm at half-time. Sweden took advantage and hit back with a barrage of corners which caused England havoc.

Allback equalised with the 2,000th goal ever scored in World Cup finals, beating David Beckham to a near-post corner and glanced a header into the roof of the net.

England would have been behind had it not been for a fantastic save from Paul Robinson, four minutes later. Again the danger came from a corner; Larsson met it with a header, which took a deflection off Jamie Carragher. Robinson reacted in a flash, turning the ball onto the bar.

Eriksson replaced Rio Ferdinand with Sol Campbell but the Swedes continued to trouble the defence from set-pieces.

Teddy Lucic beat Campbell in the air to set-up his central defensive partner Olof Mell-berg, who rattled Robinson's woodwork again with a right-foot volley.

Rooney made way for Gerrard in the 69th minute and he was not happy. He kicked a water-bottle on his way off the pitch, punched the roof of the dug-out and flung his boots away in frustration.

Gerrard's first task was to clear a shot from Kallstrom off the line. Again, it was a corner causing England problems.

Then the Liverpool skipper appeared at the other end to bring a huge sigh of relief from the thousands of English fans in the stadium. Cole picked him out with a chip and Gerrard powered a header into the top corner before Larsson scrambled Sweden's second in the last minute.

Owen will undergo a scan today but his World Cup appears to be over.