Well, England stumbles into the WC with Beckham's free kick shot in the last minute to salvage a 2-2 tie against Greece....At the same time, Germany could not beat Finland at home 0-0, the Germans blew it again so now they are in the playoffs....Sometimes I wonder if both of these teams deserve to be in the WC;)
Brilliant Beckham sends England to World Cup
By Trevor Huggins
MANCHESTER, England, Oct 6 (Reuters) - David Beckham sent
England to the World Cup finals on Saturday with a wonderful stoppage
time free kick which salvaged a 2-2 draw against Greece at Old Trafford.
England's inspirational captain, playing on his club ground, curved a
25-metre shot into the corner of the Greek net to ensure his side finished
top of group nine with a superior goal difference to Germany, who only
drew 0-0 at home to Finland.
As group winners England claimed the automatic qualifying spot for next
year's finals in Japan and South Korea, condemning Germany to the
playoffs.
Beckham described it as ``the best feeling ever'' while coach Sven Goran
Eriksson said: ``It was a marvellous afternoon, though maybe not
football-wise.
``I don't think they played very well today, certainly not in the first half.
``We struggled, we suffered ... but we're in the World Cup and that's
what counts.''
Before the dramatic finale England seemed likely to pay for a woeful
first-half performance and some dreadful defending throughout the match.
Demis Nikolaidis looked to have snatched a shock win for the Greeks
with a goal one minute after England substitute Teddy Sheringham's
68th-minute equaliser had cancelled out Angelos Charisteas's rasping
first-half effort for the visitors.
For most of the match England were a pale shadow of the side which had
won all five of their previous World Cup qualifiers under their Swedish
coach, including their remarkable 5-1 win over Germany in Munich.
Beckham's trademark strike, a near-identical goal to the one he scored in
England 2-0 win in Greece in June, completed their transformation from
bottom of the group a year ago to group winners.
It prompted an explosion of joy from the 66,090 fans at Old Trafford and
another roar followed seconds later as the final whistle blew and
Germany's result was announced over the loudspeakers.
Eriksson, who walked onto the pitch at the end to milk the rapturous
applause, deserved his recognition for the miraculous way he had
transformed an England side beaten 1-0 by Germany in their final match
at the old Wembley a year ago and then held 0-0 in Finland.
GLORIOUS FINISH
The glorious finish was in stark contrast to the start of the match, when
England seemed to be suffering from a bad bout of stage fright.
As inspired as Beckham was in his home stadium, United team mate Paul
Scholes was unrecognisable, his performance marked by a string of
uncharacteristically bad passes.
Fellow midfielder Steven Gerrard also put on a display best forgotten.
Goalkeeper Nigel Martyn, standing in for injured David Seaman, let in
two goals but made several sharp saves to keep England's campaign on
track.
The absence of injured Liverpool striker Michael Owen deprived
England of their usual confidence and attacking flair and they carried little
attacking threat early on.
Greece, who lost five of their seven qualifiers before Saturday, far
exceeded expectations after being crushed 5-1 in Finland last month.
Assured moving forward, and quick to track back when they lost
possession, Greece always looked like opening the scoring in front of
66,090 fans at the home of Manchester United.
Giorgos Karagounis forced a diving save from Nigel Martyn after 17
minutes, Charisteas looped a snapshot over the bar and Martyn needed
two attempts to stop a superb volley by skipper Theo Zagorakis from 25
metres.
LUCKY ENGLAND
The breakthrough came after 36 minutes when first Ashley Cole and then
Rio Ferdinand failed to make a clearance after Christos Patsatzoglou's
run down the right.
The ball ran to Charisteas and the Greek's first-time angled shot gave
Martyn no chance.
England showed more purpose in the second half, with Eriksson bringing
on Manchester United striker Andy Cole to partner Robbie Fowler,
Owen's replacement, in attack with Heskey moving to the left flank.
But it was Greece who should have scored next after Karagounis twice
failed to beat Martyn when clean through.
Sheringham's backward header from a Beckham free kick, barely five
seconds after the 35-year-old Tottenham Hotspur striker had come on,
brought England level for little more than a minute.
Weak defending by Rio Ferdinand allowed Nikolaidis to steer home
Greece's second from close range.
It set up a thrilling finish which, thanks to Beckham, climaxed in an
explosion of joy as England rode their luck into the finals and their fans
celebrated the success chanting along to the aptly-chosen theme tune,
``The Great Escape.'' |
