Eriksson defends Beckham

By DPA

Stuttgart, June 26 (DPA) Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson defended David Beckham Sunday after the England captain silenced his critics with a stunning free kick to seal a 1-0 win over Ecuador and book his side's place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

'I have stopped saying anything to the critics about David Beckham,' said Eriksson, at the press conference in the Gottlieb Daimler stadium here.

'He is the best player at set pieces in the world and he is still criticised. I think he worked very hard today,' the coach said.

Eriksson admitted that Beckham, who confessed about feeling unwell before the game and got sick on the pitch during the second half, had not told him he was not feeling 100 percent fine.

'I didn't know he wasn't feeling good before the game. He didn't tell me,' said the Swede. 'Of course, we all saw he didn't feel well, he didn't need to tell me.'

The England coach said he felt his team raised its game in the second half and could have scored more goals.

'I think we did okay first half and played even better in the second half,' he said. 'We had chances and half chances. But to be fair Ecuador could have scored one in the first half as well but for a very good block from Ashley Cole saved us.

'They made life difficult for us but you expect that in the last 16 teams in the World Cup,' he added.

Eriksson said he was happy with his experiment of playing Wayne Rooney alone up front but refused to commit himself to the setup in future.

'We'll see in the future if we go back to 4-4-2 or stick with this one,' he said.

'I think we are playing better and better with every game. We have to try to score goals with the chances we create,' he continued.

'We know that we can play better. Knowing that when you are qualified for the quarter-final is good,' he said.

Eriksson concluded by saying he felt England had been unfortunate to go out to Portugal in Euro 2004 and Brazil at the 2002 World Cup and it was time fortune smiled on his side.

'It's time we had a bit of luck at a big tournament,' he said.

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