The first tackle on David Beckham's newly-healed left foot had come, inevitably, from Martin Keown. "If you can get through that," the England captain said with a wry grimace, "you can get through anything."

Laughter rang round the room in England's hotel complex here on Awaji Island as he recounted the incident everyone knew would be a significant step on the road to his recovery. It had happened on Wednesday, during an innocent game of keep-ball.

Beckham emerged from his convalescence yesterday with good news not just about himself but about the squad as a whole. This, he made clear, is a bunch of players united not just by professional ambition but by a strong collective spirit.

"Maybe in the past there's been a little bit of nervousness going into big competitions," he said, "but this team is so young and so excited about this that there will be no nerves." Beckham will play against Sweden, unless he drops something on his left foot between now and Sunday's kick-off. It will be his 50th cap.

As far as he is concerned, seven weeks of suspense ended on Tuesday afternoon. He had trained alone that morning, as usual, and more of the same was planned for the later session. "But I joined in the team's warm-up and I felt good, so I said to the physio, 'I'll carry on.' And I went through most of the training. That was the point when I believed I would be fit." He is, he says, now 100 per cent ready.

As well as all the running and stretching and, eventually, kicking, the foot has received eight hours of massage a day. "It's been pretty sore at times but it's been worth it. I've been dying to get back into the team."

Alex Ferguson rang him a couple of nights ago. "He wanted to see how things were and how the rest of the lads were. Of course he asked about how it was and I reassured him that it was fine. I think he knows deep down that I'd play even if it was still broken. But it's definitely healed now."

When the foot was broken in a tackle by Aldo Duscher of Deportivo La Coruna, his instant reaction was to fear for his World Cup place. "That was my first question to the surgeon. But after he'd had a look he set my mind at rest." As for Duscher, "you've got to forgive. I always forgive people - most of the time."

It is the same with another Argentinian player, after the incident in the 1998 World Cup. "That's in the past for me. A lot's happened and it's made me a stronger person. I've come across Diego Simeone a couple of times since then and there's never been a problem. Of course it was a hard time. People were unsure whether I would get through it. The only people who were sure were Alex Ferguson and my family. They knew I had that strength behind me."

Like Eriksson, he discounts the possibility that opposing defenders will target his foot. "We'll see," he said. "I wouldn't do that as a professional and I wouldn't expect them to do it. You've got to go into every tackle thinking it's going to be okay."

His natural fitness has seen him through the relative inactivity of the last seven weeks and he is confident of his ability to go straight into such a big match after seven weeks without a game. "There are no doubts in my mind. I feel as fit as I did before I broke the foot."

There is a sense in the England camp that the crop of injuries may have served a purpose, adjusting public expectation to a more realistic level. Now that the casualties are mostly back on board, there is a fresh optimism in the air.

"There are many teams capable of winning it - Italy, Spain, Brazil, France and Argentina, of course," Beckham observed. "But I'm quietly confident. Winning our group was good for our confidence. We've not talked about winning the whole thing and we've not talked about not getting through the first stage either. The first game's the important one. But, you know, I'm sure we've all dreamed about it."