Beckham saves day for England
STUTTGART, Germany – David Beckham lined up the free kick. A teammate offered himself as target for the cross, and the England captain simply shook his head. He knew exactly where the ball was going.
Beckham sent it arcing over the Ecuador defensive wall and through the tiny gap between goalkeeper Cristian Mora’s fingertips and his post.
It was the only goal of the World Cup second-round game and, once more, Beckham had defied his critics, scoring a vital goal for his country.
Wayne Rooney? He’s still far short of his best. Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard? They still can’t play together. Michael Owen’s departure through injury has left more questions.
England still has Beckham – the first Englishman to score in three World Cups – and he always delivers.
Written off as being more interested in his showbiz lifestyle with wife Victoria, formerly Posh Spice, Beckham again rose to the challenge. And he did it despite feeling ill from dehydration.
While his England teammates struggled against a side they should have beaten easily, Beckham came up with one of his trademark free kicks exactly an hour into a frustratingly tedious England performance.
Like the one against Greece that earned England a place at World Cup 2002. Like the pressure penalty against Argentina at that same World Cup that earned England an overdue victory over the South American powerhouse.
That was his last World Cup goal for England, so the one he came up with against Ecuador in the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion was even more of a gem.
“I haven’t scored for a while,” he said with his usual boyish piece of understatement. But this was a lifesaver for England, which again failed to live up to all its pre-World Cup promise.
Rooney again showed that his match sharpness is nowhere near returning, and Gerrard and Lampard couldn’t work out whose turn it was to shoot. While they got in each other’s way, the five-man midfield with Rooney as the lone striker simply didn’t work.
England can thank Beckham for knowing what do to with free kicks 25 yards from goal, even if the coach doesn’t.
“Becks” has scored them repeatedly for Manchester United, Real Madrid and England, and even for Eriksson, whose judgment on other issues leaves him wide open for criticism. Eriksson believes his captain is the best player on set pieces in the game.
“I have stopped saying anything to the critics when I talk about David Beckham,” the Swede said. “He’s still criticized and I think he worked very hard today.”
That’s amazing because, on another day, he wouldn’t have started.
Beckham revealed afterward he had been physically ill during the buildup to Sunday’s game, which was played in 90-degree heat. After scoring the goal, he showed a sellout crowd of 52,000 exactly how sick he was by vomiting.
“The last two days I’ve been struggling, even in training,” Beckham said. “Wazza (Rooney) said to me before the game, ‘You’ve been terrible the last two days, so you’re going to get one tonight.’
“And I got a text from (Real Madrid teammate) Roberto Carlos this afternoon saying, ‘Score me a free kick.’ And he’s brought me good luck.”
England could do with the Brazilian star sending a few more good luck messages. Maybe to Rooney, Gerrard and Lampard.
Beckham has got to get himself well before next Saturday’s quarterfinal. Without him, then even Plan X – the free kick – won’t work.
Eriksson delivered a promise that England will play a lot better in the quarterfinal.
The Swede’s five-year spell in one of the toughest jobs in soccer ends after this World Cup and he has never taken England beyond the final eight.
Beckham also shared in those failures. Now he is the man to take England farther.