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First victory in five for Paraguay

Coach Ruiz has warned that Paraguay must improve against England

DORNBIRN, Austria, -- World Cup finalists Paraguay notched their first win in five outings by beating Georgia 1-0 in their last warm-up on Wednesday.

Striker Nelson Haedo Valdez scored the only goal for the South Americans, who open their World Cup campaign against England in Frankfurt on June 10. They also face Trinidad & Tobago and Sweden in Group B.

Paraguay's previous win was against Macedonia in a four-team tournament in Iran in November. They drew their last two matches in Norway and Denmark.

The South Americans survived a shaky second-half display and only held on to win courtesy of wayward Georgian finishing.

"We have to improve a lot," coach Anibal Ruiz said Reuters. "We know all about England but we're confident we can play a good game."

Paraguay, still without injured striker Roque Santa Cruz who is recovering from tendinitis in his knee, made the stronger start on a chilly evening in front of 6,500 fans at the tiny stadium of Austrian third division club FC Dornbirn.

Nelson Cuevas twice tested Georgia goalkeeper George Lomaia while Kakhaber Aladashvili forced a difficult save from Paraguay's Justo Villar in the early stages.

The game went through a scrappy patch until Paraguay came to life 10 minutes before halftime.

Carlos Paredes narrowly failed to connect with Carlos Bonet's cross in the 36th minute before Paraguay broke the deadlock a minute later.

Roberto Acuna sliced open the Georgia defence with an incisive pass and found Haedo Valdez, who rounded Lomaia and scored into an empty net.

Tough for Trinidad

Milivoj Novakovic scored a hat-trick to lead Slovenia to a 3-1 victory over World Cup-bound Trinidad and Tobago in a warmup match.

Novakovic scored the first goal in the fourth minute, prodding a loose ball into the net from close range. He added a second 11 minutes later, volleying in a rebound after goalkeeper Shaka Hislop parried a header from a corner kick.

Christopher Birch narrowed the score to 2-1 for Trinidad in the 26th minute after he trapped a pass on the edge of the penalty area and drilled in a low shot on the bounce.

Novakovic scored the final goal with his third in the 77th minute, pouncing on a fumbled save from a distant shot and slotting into an empty net.

Slovenia, rebuilding for 2008 European Championship qualifying, outplayed the visitors, exposing glaring weaknesses as they prepare for their first World Cup.

One of the tournament's longest shots, Trinidad qualified by beating Bahrain in the playoffs and was drawn in Group B with England, Sweden and Paraguay.

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