YOU'VE got to take your hat off to David Beckham.

After being slaughtered by the media in the build-up to Sunday's game with Ecuador, the Real Madrid star came good for England when they needed him the most.

When the chips are down, big players produce the goods at crucial times.

For 59 minutes against Ecuador, Beckham had barely had a kick; he was a virtual bystander on the right-hand side of midfield.

Then suddenly England won a free kick in an inviting area on the edge of the box and Beckham waved his magic wand by producing one of his trade mark free-kicks to leave the keeper with no chance.

That one touch of quality was enough to send England into the last eight - and it's the reason why Sven Goran Eriksson can't afford to drop his skipper for the promising Aaron Lennon.

Whatever you think about Beckham and all the baggage that comes with him, he's still an inspirational leader of his country.

Being the captain of the team doesn't necessarily mean you've got to be the star player every time you pull on an England jersey; it's more important that you motivate and inspire others, which I think Beckham does in this current England side.

His powers might be waning, but as long as he keeps producing the goods like he did on Sunday then he still warrants a place in Sven's starting eleven, despite the emergence of Lennon, who looks an exciting talent.

Once again, England have been heavily criticised over the last few days, but I honestly didn't think they played too badly in Stuttgart.

In fact, the change in system actually worked far better than I thought it ever would.

Aside from the result, the biggest single plus for me was the performance of Wayne Rooney, who continues to defy medical science in terms of the way he's recovered from his metatarsal injury.

For Wayne to last the full 90 minutes in heat approaching 100 degrees was nothing short of remarkable.

I've said all along, if England are to go all the way and win the World Cup then much rests on the form and fitness of the mercurial Manchester United striker.

Aside from Beckham and his set-pieces, he's the biggest matchwinner in Sven's squad, even though he's still not quite at peak fitness.

But if England are to truly get the best out of him, I still think they'd be better off playing Peter Crouch alongside him.

Sven clearly has some big decisions still to make.

Agree? Disagree?
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