ENGLAND sent out for an ice-cold delivery of Becks as their World Cup chances threatened to wilt in the Stuttgart sunshine.
Skipper David Beckham delivered a piece of chilling set-piece magic after an hour to set up a quarter-final date for his country on Saturday.
His 27-yard free-kick saw off the challenge of Ecuador as temperatures soared to the high eighties inside the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium.
Amazingly, it was Beckham's first goal for his country with a dead ball since he struck in Liechtenstein more than three years ago.
It was also every bit as decisive as the goal against Greece at Old Trafford five years ago that confirmed English participation at the last World Cup.
Ecuador are used to climbing mountains - their capital, Quito, sits almost 10,000 feet above sea level - but, with the exception of a couple of second-half skirmishes they didn't threaten to damage English hopes of making the last eight once Beckham had struck.
Mind you, England were far from convincing yet again and this low-key performance will hardly be filling the tournament big guns with fear as we reach the business end of what has been a marvellous competition.
Apart from Beckham's moment of magic - his only contribution - and some inventive touches from the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard andWayne Rooney, this was dull stuff.
Argentina and Germany have already laid down ominous markers for the fortnight of football that lies ahead but under Sven Goran Eriksson England continue to look ponderous and conservative in a 4-5-1 formation.
The searing heat denied them the opportunity to play the high-tempo game their critics are demanding but so far there is little evidence to suggest they will still be here when the Final is played on July 9.
Officially, the English FA had around 3500 tickets to distribute to fans but their followers still managed to colonise 80 per cent of the seats. Small pockets of yellow-shirted Ecuadorians added a splash of colour, while one brave Scot fluttered a Saltire among the hundreds of crosses of St George.
As expected, Eriksson went with a 4-5-1 system, with Owen Hargreaves at right-back in place of the injured Gary Neville and Michael Carrick given a holding role in the centre of midfield.
Manchester United striker Rooney spearheaded the English attack and he made several dangerous darts into the box early on as Gerrard and Lampard probed for holes in Ecuador's defence.
They didn't find them but England almost went behind after 10 minutes following a lapse in concentration by John Terry that allowed striker Carlos Tenorio to latch on to a long ball from his own defence.
The Qatar-based striker took a touch and looked certain to place his shot from 10 yards beyond Paul Robinson but Ashley Cole arrived with a brilliant last-ditch sliding tackle to divert the ball against the face of the bar and over for a corner.
Chelsea star Terry was shown the yellow card moments later for a high challenge on dangerman Tenorio and the 25-yard free-kick that resulted from Edison Mendez was knocked away by Rio Ferdinand.
It was a sluggish start from England but suddenly they found their feet in midfield and Lampard and Gerrard both went close with long-range efforts after clever link play around the box with Rooney.
Skipper Beckham doesn't have to look far for his critics these days and the only thing dazzling about him in the first half was his natty blue boots, although he did take a free-kick 10 minutes before the interval that flashed a yard wide.
The lack of activity on the pitch got too much for the German neutrals in the crowd, so they belted out shouts of "Deutschland, Deutchsland" and tried to start a Mexican wave but English fans were having none of it.
Ecuador, big and brawny, are not typical South American footballers and a few meaty challenges saw Luis Valencia and Carlos Tenorio join Terry in the book of Belgian referee Frank de Bleeckere in a lacklustre first half most were happy to see the back of.
The second half hardly started any better, although Edwin Tenorio, no relation to striker Carlos, tried his luck from long range only to see his effort fly wildly over.
Mendez was next to find space but delayed his strike too long and Gerrard got back in time to deflect his shot high and wide. Gerrard and Lampard looked by far England's most creative influences.
Beckham and Joe Cole offered width on either side of the pitch but little else in terms of deliveries into danger areas.
Rooney had been well policed by skipper Ivan Hurtado and Giovanny Espinoza in the centre of the Ecuador defence and together they thwarted the frontman as he tried to barge between them and latch on to a through ball by Lampard.
England were toiling but Beckham stepped up when they needed him most to fire home the crucial opener after Lampard had been upended by former Hibs full-back Ulises de la Cruz.
Beckham needed help from the inside of Cristian Mora's right-hand post to get the ball in the net but the keeper was also slow in getting across his line to deal with the set-piece.
Suddenly, England had discovered self-belief and Gerrard and Lampard began to become even more pivotal figures as they searched for the decisive second. However, the finishing was poor to say the least.
Lampard hit a left foot-shot wide, then wrongly elected to pass inside for Rooney after being put clear inside the box by Gerrard.
Spurs keeper Paul Robinson had his first save to make midway through the second half, pushing away a fierce shot by Valencia, but England were soon back in their new found groove.
Gerrard and Lampard combined again but a low cross from the Chelsea ace too far in front of Rooney.
he chunky hitman returned the compliment minutes later, skinning de la Cruz on the left before pulling back from Lampard but he skied his effort from 12 yards.
Rooney went close with a long-range effort that brought out a decent diving stop from Mora but it said much about English attitudes that Robinson and sub Jamie Carragher were both booked for time-wasting.
The final whistle was greeted as much by relief as joy by the England fans.
Just where would this team be without the Becks delivery service?
LinkWithin
