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Blair Thrilled, Beckham’s Nightmare over, as England Beats Argentina
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Bekham |
LONDON,
June 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - British Prime Minister Tony
Blair is "thrilled" with England's World Cup 1-0 win against
Argentina Friday, as England’s mega-star David Bekham is finally
redeemed.
A
Downing Street spokesman said that Blair "is thrilled with the
result and thinks the team fully deserved their win", reported
Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"They
showed skill, guts and commitment from beginning to end and he is
really pleased for Sven (Goran Eriksson, the Swedish England coach)
and the whole squad."
Fans
across the country broke into rapturous celebrations after England's
victory, which came after skipper Beckham blasted a 44th-minute
penalty past Argentine keeper Pablo Cavallero during the match in the
northern Japanese city of Sapporo.
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.
The
historical win, meanwhile, meant a lot to Bekham personally. The
Manchester United midfielder looked like he, finally, exorcised his
demons, resulting from a four-year long nightmare.
Beckham,
made the scapegoat for England's exit from France 98 after being sent
off in the second round defeat to Argentina, today’s win clearly
meant much, much more.
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Joy... London |
As
he raced towards the corner flag, tugging his red shirt up to his
mouth to kiss it in ecstatic celebration, there was no disguising his
relief and emotion.
"It
is a fantastic feeling. This is probably the sweetest moment of my
whole career," Bekham said after the game.
"It
is a victory for the whole nation. When you play one of the best teams
in the world, to score the goal that wins the game is very
special."
When
Beckham stepped up take the penalty, the strain on his face was
palpable.
And his nervous state certainly could not have been helped when Diego
Simeone, the Argentinian, involved in the incident which earned
Beckham his red card four years ago, approached him just before the
kick.
"He
came up to me and I think he was trying to shake my hand. Then (Nicky)
Butt and (Paul) Scholes came in and that was the last I saw of him.
"Then
the goalkeeper was pointing at where I should hit the ball, so I hit
it the other way."
As
it was, Beckham struck the penalty with venomous force but only a yard
to the left of Pablo Cavallero.
Had
the Argentinian goalkeeper not started to move the other way, he could
well have saved it.
Beckham
revealed that he had not definitely decided before the match that he
would take any penalties England won. But when the chance arrived, he
was determined not to shirk his responsibility as the team's captain.
"Michael
Owen came and said 'you or me?' and I just said I wanted it,"
Beckham said.
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Argentine soccer legend, right, watches the match in Havana, Cuba |
"When
it came to kicking it, there were a few antics going on and quite a
lot of things going through my mind. It definitely wasn't the best
penalty I've ever taken but it went in and that's what counts."
After
England's defeat four years ago, Beckham returned home to be greeted
by effigies of himself hung up from makeshift gallows. For most of the
following year, he was ruthlessly jeered at every ground he played at.
Earlier
this year, he revealed that the pressure on him and his family was so
intense that he considered quitting the game or moving abroad.
However,
he bounced back to become one of the world's finest midfielders and
perhaps the best striker of a dead ball playing the game Friday. Those
dark times, he says, made him a stronger person and now that chapter
of his life is closed.
"After
everything that happened four years ago, it is just nice that finally
I can lay it to rest."
Four
years after the blackest night of his career, Beckham's redemption is
complete.
Meanwhile, the potentially
enormous significance of the result for the outcome of the group
sparked widely contrasting reactions in London and Buenos Aires.
While
London streets were unbearably noisy and joyful, deathly hush reigned
in Buenos Aires, where the streets of the Argentinean capital were
deserted after the unexpected loss which could eliminate the South
Americans.
Thousands
who watched the match in bars and street side cafes streamed out, for
the most part without a word.
For
his part, Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa said his team now had to
focus on the game against Sweden "and disassociate ourselves from
the sadness of this result."
"It
was game of two different halves," he added. "The second was
better than the first and we had our chances to tie the match."
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.
England
twice came close to doubling their lead after half-time, which had
seen Argentine coach Bielsa surprisingly substitute skipper Juan
Sebastian Veron for the lively Pablo Aimar.
First
Owen beat the Argentine defense before sending his shot wide, and then
man-of-the-match Paul Scholes unleashed a spectacular volley that had
Cavallero scrambling to parry clear.
England,
bristling with confidence and with recalled Nicky Butt superb in
midfield, again went close to scoring on 58 minutes.
A
patient build-up saw Scholes float a lovely pass to substitute Teddy
Sheringham, who uncorked a venomous volley which Cavallero desperately
beat away.
Argentina
piled on the pressure in the final 20 minutes, England's tiring
players giving away possession cheaply again and again and England
keeper David Seaman had to clear a late Pocchettino header off the
line.
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