Beckham bends it to send England through

By Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) – Captain David Beckham delivered one of
his trademark bending free kicks to beat Ecuador 1-0 on Sunday
and send an otherwise toothless England team through to the
quarter-finals of the World Cup.

Among the pre-tournament favorites, England struggled to
create chances for the fourth straight game and were saved
early on when defender Ashley Cole rushed back to get a foot on
Ecuador striker Carlos Tenorio’s close-range shot, deflecting
it on to the bar and over.

Beckham came to the rescue one hour into the match, curling
a perfect long-range kick into the right corner of keeper
Cristian Mora’s goal to put England through.

They join former champions Argentina and Germany in the
last eight and will face the winner of Sunday’s night match
between Portugal and the Netherlands.

“It was ugly at times and we haven’t played to our full
potential but we’re happy tonight. We’re through to the
quarter-finals,” Beckham said after the match in the
southwestern city of Stuttgart.

Beckham was sick on the pitch during the second half of the
match and said he had been feeling unwell before the match.

With Michael Owen out of the finals with a knee injury,
England’s Swedish coach Sven-Goran Eriksson elected to play
20-year-old striker Wayne Rooney alone up front.

That strategy backfired, with England failing to create a
single goalscoring opportunity in a scrappy first half. The
Beckham goal re-energized the side and both Rooney and
midfielder Frank Lampard had scoring opportunities as the final
whistle approached.

IMPROVEMENT NECESSARY

But England will probably have to improve significantly if
they are to advance against Portugal or the Netherlands.

The Dutch, relying on occasional flashes of brilliance from
wingers Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie, emerged from a tough
Group C with two wins and a draw.

They face a Portugal side that has lost only once against
them in nine previous meetings and beat them 2-1 in the
European championships two year ago — the last loss for the
Netherlands in a competitive match.

Portugal’s coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who led Brazil to the
championship in 2002, will be looking to extend his run of 10
consecutive victories in World Cup matches.

England’s fans caused trouble in Stuttgart in the days
leading up to the match.

Local police detained 400 English fans on Saturday after
fighting broke out with German supporters. The rival groups
threw bottles, tables and chairs in a square in the city center
before riot police intervened.

On Friday, 122 English fans were held for aggressive
behavior.

“Anybody who is with any group that throws bottles or other
missiles, that will not be tolerated,” Stuttgart police chief
Siegfried Stumpf said.