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.

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 in the competition so far.

Mattias Jonson thought he had cleared the danger when his looping defensive header cleared the penalty area. It dropped straight to the Chelsea midfielder, however, who took one touch on his chest before launching a dipping volley into the sky with the outside of his right foot.

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 was a beautiful goal and it capped an outstanding first-half display from England.

They zipped the ball about at a good tempo, stretched the Swedes and peppered Isaksson's goal with shots.

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 havoc in the England defence.

Allback equalised with the 2,000th goal ever scored in World Cup finals.

The former Aston Villa striker beat David Beckham to a near-post corner and glanced a header into the roof of the net.

England's knees buckled and they 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, taken expertly by Kim Kallstrom on the Swedish right.

Larsson met it with a header, which took a deflection off Jamie Carragher. Robinson reacted in a flash, flinging up an arm to turn the ball onto the bar.

Eriksson replaced Rio Ferdinand, winning his 50th cap, 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 Mellberg, who rattled Robinson's woodwork again with a right-foot volley.

Rooney made way for Gerrard in the 69th minute.

Gerrard had been left out because he was one booking from suspension but, with Sweden threatening to grab a winner, he was sent on.

Rooney 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.

He was probably angrier with his own lack of fitness than the decision to remove him.

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

Then the Liverpool skipper appeared at the other end of the pitch to bring a huge sigh of relief from the thousands of English fans in the stadium.

Cole picked out his run with a chipped pass and Gerrard powered a header into the top corner.

The value of the goal became clear when Larsson scrambled Sweden's second over the line in the last minute.

England hung on but Owen's injury raises again the question of Eriksson's decision to bring only four strikers, including 17-year-old Theo Walcott.

Owen will undergo a scan tomorrow but his World Cup appears to be over. Accepting a pass from Joe Cole on England's left, with less than a minute on the clock, he turned on the ball and played neat little ball inside to Ashley Cole.

It was a simple move but Owen jarred his knee on the ground after making the pass.

He crashed to the floor in obvious pain and beckoned physio Gary Lewin before rolling himself off the pitch.

Lewin tried to comfort Owen as he treated him for three minutes on the touchline.

The diagnosis was clearly not good as England's 36-goal striker held his head in dismay.

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