Beckham penalty brings victory

David Beckham today took revenge against Argentina, leading England to a pulsating victory over his old enemies. In a match that brought the country to a standstill, Sven-Goran Eriksson's men deservedly won 1-0 at the Sapporo Dome, thanks to a Beckham penalty.

In the 43nd minute, Michael Owen ran at defender Mauricio Pochettino and was tripped. Referee Perluigi Collina pointed at the spot. The stadium hushed as Beckham stepped up and struck the penalty with terrific force almost straight at goalkeeper Pablo Cavallero.

In fact, the captain later confessed he had to overcome his nerves to blast the ball home.

Four years ago Beckham was sent off for kicking at Diego Simeone in the defeat at France '98. Today he gave a true captain's performance. His every kick was illuminated by hundreds of camera flashbulbs and the thousands of English fans went mad when he scored.

Manager Eriksson's squad can now look forward to night of celebration as he lifted the alcohol ban for this evening, saying, "I think we all deserve a little wine."

The Queen, a Beckham fan, said she was "delighted", while Tony Blair praised England's "skill, guts and commitment."

After Sweden's 2-1 defeat of Nigeria earlier in Kobe, the win means England join the Swedes at the top of the "Group of Death" and need only a draw against Nigeria next Wednesday to secure a place in the second round.

Team-mates lined up to pay tribute to their captain for the courage he showed in volunteering to take the penalty. Owen said: "I said to him did he want to ta ke it and he said yes straight away, but he told me at the end he had been nervous about taking it. Anyone would be. It was good to get our own back and hopefully we can follow it up on Wednesday and qualify for the next round."

Manager Eriksson was calm in victory, just a slight smile flickering across his face as he said: "I am happy, we're all very happy but from tomorrow let's try to be focused on the Nigeria game.

"I think if we can stay in the competition we'll become better and better. We had players returning from injury but with every game they will get stronger."

"It was a very tough game. In the last ten or 15 minutes we had big problems - we were a little bit tired but defensively we had big, big heart and sometimes that's important in football.

"We will have dinner and I think we all deserve a little wine".

Asked if it was the most important goal he had scored for England Beckham said "Definitely."

Describing the penalty, Beckham said he had "hit it sweet". He added "the whole team played brilliantly from David Seaman to the defence midfield and in the attack.

"Its a shame to be so far away from home and miss the celebrations that must be going on."

The game, played at frenetic pace, was a bruising physical battle and there were frequent stops for fouls. England, lacklustre against Sweden last Sunday, had long spells of domination. Owen almost scored a carbon copy of the scintillating goal against Argentina in 1998, hitting the post after running at the defence.

Paul Scholes had a ferocious volley saved by the goalkeeper, and Beckham also went close. There were fine performances too from Nicky Butt in central midfiled, Trevor Sinclair down the left, and Rio Ferdinand in central defence.

The Argentinians had chances too. Kily Gonzalez blasted over, and as the second half wore on the England goal was increasingly under siege. But the defence held firm, and Seaman made a superb save.

At the end the Argentineplayers - criticised by Glenn Hoddle four years ago for gloating - cut sorry figures as they trooped back to their dressing room. Manchester United's Juan Sebastian Veron, substituted at half time, looked particularly down.

In their ears rang the songs of jubilant England fans who stayed behind to celebrate, dancing jigs of delight and hugging each other.

Argentinian fans seemed incredulous that their team had been beaten. Many sat in their chairs for long minutes after the game had finished, staring at the ground.

Afterwards, full- back Danny Mills said: "It was particularly sweet for Becksafter what happened four years ago. It was his penalty, he was always going to take it and all credit to him he was very brave.

"We had something to prove to ourselves, our fans and our critics after the Sweden game."

Scholes described the victory as feeling "better than Munich" - referring to England's famous 5-1 victory over Germany there last September. Left-back Ashley Cole said "We've proved a lot of people wrong tonight and Becks has shown what a great player he is."

Some of the 8,000 England fans, whose conduct so far has been described by police as "exemplary", tarnished their image slightly by booing and jeering the Argentinian national anthem before the game.

But from then on they gave their team rousing support as they helped them on their way to a great victory.

The Queen, who personally wished the England skipper well before the tournament, heard a massive cheer from fans crowded around an outdoor TV screen when the final whistle was blown. She had been touring the South of England Agricultural Show.

One of her aides said: "The Queen has said she is delighted. She couldn't have failed to hear the cheer as England won. She asked to be kept informed of England's progress and I am sure she will be pleased for Beckham."

A No 10 spokesman said: "The Prime Minister watched the game at Chequers. He is thrilled. They showed skill, guts and commitment from beginning to end."

But while fans celebrated bookmakers were left facing a multi-million pound bill.

Sean Boyce, from Ladbrokes said: "We made England the underdogs, but the punters refused to contemplate defeat."

A bet on England to win 1-0 with Beckham scoring the first goal would pay 45/1, a straightforward bet on a 1-0 win for the team, 6/1. England's odds to win the World cup were slashed from 16/1 to 7/1 after the match.

Beckham is quoted at 10-1 to receive a knighthood in the New Years Honours list.