SHANGHAI, Sept. 12 -- A BRILLIANT freekick by Aya Miyama with five seconds left gave Japan a 2-2 draw with England in its opening game in Group A in Shanghai yesterday.

The result throws open the fight for one of the two top spots in the group and a chance to advance to the quarterfinals.

It was the second goal scored off a freekick by Miyama in the game, and matched two impressive individual goals by England's Kelly Smith.

With England trailing 0-1 with 10 minutes left, Smith beat two defenders at the edge of the box to smash a low, hard shot by Japanese goalkeeper Miho Fukumoto.

Two minutes later she rode off a tackle inside the box, then knocked in the rebound after Fukumoto saved her first shot.

England, which deserved to win after outplaying Japan for most of the game, went behind early in the second half when Miyama dipped a 25-meter freekick over the wall into the right corner beyond the reach of Rachel Brown.

Her second goal was from 30 meters.

England dominated most of the second half and created at least half a dozen clear-cut chances, only to be denied by Fukumoto or unlucky finishing.

With defending champion Germany, which demolished Argentina 11-0 on Monday, in the group, both teams were eager for a win to keep up.

In a double header on Friday, England will play Germany and Japan will meet Argentina.

In Chengdu, Cynthia Uwak's goal in the 82nd minute lifted Nigeria to a 1-1 draw with favored Sweden in a Group B match yesterday.

Uwak pounced upon a failed clearance to slot home a well-struck shot from 20 meters to the right of beaten Sweden keeper Hedvig Lindahl.

Again, the Swedish women have failed to win an opening game in a major tournament - World Cup or Olympics. Despite that record, they have often recovered. In the 2003 World Cup they lost the opener to the United States but still finished second to Germany.

Victoria Svensson's goal in the 50th minute gave Sweden a 1-0 lead, which seemed it would be enough to break the jinx.

Taking a through-ball against a poorly-executed offside trap, Svensson broke in alone on keeper Precious Dede and lashed a shot home from 10 meters.

The draw in Group B leaves all four teams - the US and DPR Korea are the other teams - with one point.

The Nigerians posed little threat for most of the game with the Swedes dominating possession and overall shots, but pressed forward more in the last ten minutes.

They got their reward when Uwak fired home.

Group B is regarded as the toughest in the 16-team World Cup, with the top two teams advancing to meet the survivors in Group A where Germany is the favorite.