England have made it five wins out of five under coach Sven-Goran Eriksson in tonight's World Cup qualifier against Greece. Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes toe-poked the ball home from close range in the 63rd minute to put England 1-0 ahead and David Beckham crowned a memorable night with another trademark free-kick to seal victory with three minutes to go. England remain six points behind Group Nine leaders Germany, who beat Albania 2-0 this evening, with a game in hand.
Skipper Beckham produced a magnificent performance, but his goal means that his mohican haircut will have to be scalped, as he promised before the game that he would get a haircut if he scored. He will be satisfied with his part in a victory which has given England a much better chance of qualification. "It puts us in a better position. We said if we could get to seven points we could take it from there," said Beckham.
Coach Eriksson was relieved that his team overcame this potentially embarrassing hurdle. He said: "This was a very difficult game. It was very important to have the three points. The next qualification game is in Germany and anything could happen.
"We did well in the first half and created some good chances. Greece created very little. We had a lot of patience, waited and waited, and in the second half we won it well. We deserved it," said Eriksson. The Swede believes that England have a good chance of beating Germany in the crucial away game on September 1. He said: "Everything is open now. If we do not take first place we will try for second place. But are we going to try to win in Germany and take the first place."
Filed by Greg McKevitt
