A David Beckham penalty fired England to a 1-0 victory over tournament favourites Argentina in a gripping 'Group of Death' showdown at the Sapporo Dome today.
England skipper Beckham blasted a 44th-minute spot-kick past Argentine keeper Pablo Cavallero after referee Pierluigi Collina pointed to the spot when England striker Michael Owen was tripped in the box by Mauricio Pochettino.
The win put England second in Group F, level on four points with leaders Sweden, 2-1 winners over Nigeria earlier Friday. Defeat left Argentina third with three points.
It was a deserved win for England, who carved out a series of opportunities in the second half and then withstood some furious Argentine pressure to hang on for a famous win and avenge their 1998 World Cup defeat to their old rivals.
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said that his side fully deserved their 1-0 victory.
"I am very pleased of course," said Eriksson. "It was very hard the last 15 minutes. We were tired but we took our chances.
"I think we deserved to win the game and for 70, 75 minutes we played very good football.
"It pleased me that we played football for more than 45 minutes. We came out in the second half and we created some chances," he added.
"We did very well, we played with a big, big heart."
Eriksson said England had needed to win after drawing their first Group F match 1-1 with Sweden.
"This win was very important after the first game. We have to work very, very hard to try to go further on," said the Swede.
AFP