England 1 Paraguay 0, 10/06/06

So how do you think our main man performed during England's opening game? The consensus amongst the pundits is that Becks played a good, but not great game. He was indirectly responsible for the only goal of the game and showed his trademark flair and passing skills. No bookings as well! A good start to the 2006 World Cup for Becks. What do you think?

The Worst TV Show - EVER?

And so after the main event watched by millions aorund the world, what do you think the audience was for possbily the WORST TV show EVER!

Rio's World Cup Wind Up was a prank show on British TV, broadcast the evening after the Paraguay game. The England defender played pranks against his team mates, all in front of a hidden camera.

Our main man Beckham was supposed to be the big name catch at the end of the show. The plot was to kidnap the England captain. Except it all went horribly wrong as Becks panicked as his driver took a wrong turn and took him into the Moss Side area of Manchester.

Becks jumped out of the car, feared the worst and ran away. Rio jumped in and to tried to show the funny side to his former Manchester United captain. But Becks wasn't laughing.

In terms of horror shows, it wasn't quite as bad as the Northern Ireland defeat, but Rio should stick to soccer. It will be interesting to see if the 'prank' has any effect on Rio's position amongst his team mates.

England 2 Trinidad and Tobago 0 (June 15 2006)

Our man Becks played another pivotal role in the match against Trinidad and Tobago on June 15th. He delivered a great cross to Peter Crouch for the first goal and provided a few other great chances squandered by the other playeers. Although a far from impressive display by England, Beckham still shone and was awarded FIFA Man of the Match.

Sweden 2 England 2 (June 20 2006)

Becks hit a stunner of a free kick from the left wing which could so nearly have put the match out of Sweden's reach but it just missed by a few inches. He delivered a few other near perfect long passes and crosses but yet again, England lacked the finishing touches and failed to capitalise on them. We are pleased he didn't lead a losing side, get booked, sent off or injured. Roll on the next round!

Sven, Becks and Marriage

"I am not married to him, even if you think I am. I'm not even engaged to him", said Sven Goran Eriksson of David Beckham when pressed by the press on why Becks is still captaining England despite Beckham's low key performances.

Becks insists England ready

Becks believes that this year, England have the best chance in decades to win the World Cup: have the best squad for years, the European climate is right and the desire is there. Let's hope he can walk the walk, play the play and help win them the match.

England 1 Ecuador 0 (June 25 2006)

Becks scores a blinder - what an absolutely superb free kick from the left wing. Becks squeezed it right into the nearside corner, his first goal from a dead ball situation in an England shirt for 3 years. Then he threw up on the pitch. Yuk. But the goal he scored was almost worth waiting for. Especially if he brings home The Cup. The goal excited Posh too. England 1-0 Ecuador, final score. Becks and his team are through to the next round.

Carlos text gave Becks good luck

Becks says that his Madrid team mate Roberto Carlos' text message gave him some luck. Carlos asked Becks to score him a goal. Also Wayne Rooney said Becks would score and lo and behold, he did too!

Becks sick

So Becks didn't tell Eriksson that he was feeling poorly before the game because he feared he might have been dropped for the Ecuador game maybe? But he sure found out later when Becks vomited on the pitch after he scored from the free kick.

Becks has his team mates support

Rio Ferdinand, Paul Robinson, Owen Hargreaves, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and John Terry have all rallied to give their backing to their captain after Becks' far from top quality consistent performances so far in this year's World Cup. His team player mentally, vital input, experience and work rate have all been subject to praise.

Becks helps business

By Beckham scoring that one goal against Ecuador and keeping England in the tournament, the British Retail Consortium predicts that businesses will gain £1.5 billion over the four weeks of the World Cup. Furthermore, pubs, bars, restaurants and shops will share £124 million that will be spent on food and drink every week of the tournament! So he really does earn his million pounds salary.

Becks wants to get possessive

Reuters has reported that Becks believes the key to beating Portugal this Saturday is to work on possession of the ball. Talking of Portugal's tendancy to hang on to the ball, he stated "It's in their nature, that's the way they play. They're going to have a certain amount of possession but hopefully we will too." He hopes to see England passing the ball round with more flow than shown so far in the contest.

England lose to Portugal on penalties

After a pretty lacklustre game which saw Wayne Rooney sent off and Becks leaving the field in obvious distress after leg injury, England failed to get the ball past Portugal's keeper and crashed out of the World Cup. Afterwards, Becks pleaded with the press not to vilify Rooney in the same way they did with his own sending off in 1998 and reminded them that Rooney is England's future. The vilifying of Becks made the man back in 1998; maybe the press should go after Rooney too.

Becks steps down as Captain of the England squad

After an emotional departure from the pitch with an injury (an Achilles tendon injury which could keep him out of the game for 6 weeks) during the Portugal match, Becks announced his intention to resign as Captain of England. During the après-match interview, Becks stated his wish to continue to play for his country but felt that the time had come for someone else to don the armband.

The FA note Beckham's contribution

The Football Association paid tribute to Beckham by noting his top 5 significant contributions to England's matches on its website. Read the article here. Do you agree with their picks? Share your opinions by adding a comment.
Unfortunately for the FA, not only has it lost its England captain, but it also stands to lose up to £20 million due to loss of sponsorship deals without the draw of Becks' superstar status.



See also:

• Becks' Diary