David Beckham

David Beckham - England's World Cup 2006 Captain.
squad no. 7

club: Real Madrid
position: Right Midfield
age: 31
caps: 89
goals: 16

David Beckham has never truly fulfilled the enormous expectations he created with his dramatic emergance as a youngster at Manchester United and this is his last chance to really prove himself on the world stage.

Becks is brimming with fitness, unlike four years ago, and that is a good sign. Beckham has great technical ability but is typically English in that he plays his best when he is on the go.

His performances in the warm up games have been highly encouraging and he needs to be our provider in chief. If he can get in consistent service from the right hand side then we will be dangerous against anyone and hopefully he can get some shots in from open play. These balls will swerve all over the place and no-one has a better dig on them than Becks.

Football England Verdict
Rating: 5.60

A major disappointment. His only worthwhile contributions came from set pieces and that is not enough to justify anyones place in an international side.
Beckham seems to have completely lost the dynamism with which he used to play and could still be seen as setting the tone for the team. Trouble is it was a desperately depressing tone.
He wants to carry on playing and reach his century of caps but these should not be given to him out of kindness. He has to prove he is worthy of them and show he has more to offer than the young, hungry and fearless Lennon.

Sunday, July 2
Beckham announces he is giving up the captaincy but wants to carry on playing. Fair enough but you need to improve dramatically on what you've done here David.
He has undoubtedly been a success as captain and has showed better timing and awareness in knowing when to go than his manager ever did.

Portugal 0-0.
Football England rating: 4
It was getting to the stage where his injury actually became a relief as it allowed Lennon on and gave us some much needed thrust. Very disappointing display against probably their weakest link.

Ecuador 1-0.
Football England rating: 6
This was Beckham's poorest display in the competition so far but he redeemed it with his truly stunning free kick.
He really does need to contribute a lot more in open play, however, and Lennon's brief appearance as his replacement showed that we do have an adequate replacement ready to go.

Sweden 2-2.
Football England rating: 6
Another promising rather than outstanding performance. Needs to be a more consistent influence if we are going to make an impression at the business end of this tournament.

Trinidad 2-0.
Football England rating: 6
Still not at his best. His distribution was inconsistent but he did help England dominate after moving to right back to accomodate Lennon.
Given time and space his passing kept England moving forward and he supplied the cross for the first goal.
I personally don't think it would be a bad idea to keep him there.

Paraguay 1-0.
Football England rating 6
Beckham started well. Not only did he whip in the ball for the goal but he led the team in harrying the opposition to distraction before half time.
His surprising tendancy to give the ball away inside his own half had revealed itself before the break, however, and this got worse after the interval.
Rarely managed a centre from open play and curled one shot wide.
Okay, but needs to improve significantly if England are going to prosper.

Check back here for Football England's Assessment of David Beckham's Performances and News.