Estonia 0 England 3
It was straighforward because of Beckham and Crouch, and because Joe Cole scored a terrific first goal.
Clearly, England should never think about losing in Estonia.
But our rabid, tabloid-led media was hungry for Steve McClaren's head on a plate, so there was pressure.
In that situation he needed players who would not freeze, would not be scared, would not think about failure.
He needed bottle.
Steve McClaren needed players who would not bottle it.
He needed guys who has stepped up to the plate before and could do so again. He knew that competitive sport is not just about skill and athleticism, it's about character.Pivotal moments in a qualifying campaign are a big test of character
So he picked David Beckham and Michael Owen, and started Peter Crouch, who had an assist for the first goal and scored the second.
Beckham has the ability to deliver his maximum game when it matters most and that is more important than analysing all the things he can't do on a football pitch. He is the only player who can give you David Beckham, and Owen, for all his glaring faults, is the only player who can give you Michael Owen.
History will record that in June 2007 Steve McClaren recalled David Beckham for two games and England scored four goals and Beckham made three of them.
One for Terrry against Brazil, free-kick to the far post
One for Crouch against Estonia, a first time diagonal pass whipped in beyond the centreback to give Crouch a run onto a buncing ball which he headed perfectly into the corner for 2-0 to finish the game.
And one for Owen, chested the ball, took a second touch, clipped it over to the far post where Owen stabbed in to make iut 3-0.
Beckham is a quarterback.
Beckham is a delivery man.
Beckham is a big cuddly English sheepdog who admits he is thick.
Beckham once said, "I'd love to be famous in America."
McClaren dropped him after the 2006 World Cup and then Capello started Beckham in only seven of Real Madrid's first 25 games this season.
On Monday, January 11 we heard that Beckham would join LA Galaxy when his contract expired on June 30. His salary over five years would be $250 million dollars but the icon from east London insisted that, “I’m not going there for the money. I need another challenge, as simple as that. This challenge came up. Soccer is huge everywhere apart from America, and it can go higher there than anyone there can believe – I want to take it to that higher level.”
On Friday January 15, Capello announced that Beckham would continue to train with the first team squad but would not play for Real Madrid again, as he had refused to sign a contract extension and had committed himself to another club.
Capello said, "Beckham will never play for Madrid again. He will train but not play. A player cannot have the same commitment when he has already signed for another club.
"We don't count on him at all. The player's decision is to go to Los Angeles. A player who has a contract of that importance with another club, well we can't count on him. But the fact he wants to leave has nothing to do with me. It is entirely up to him. You will have to ask him if he wants to leave before the end of his contract.
Later, in the second week of February, Capello was forced to bring Beckham back, and Becks proceeded to inspire a younger, grittier Real Madrid side to challenge for the title in a way they had not done in his three previous seasons under five other coaches.
One thing they never say on TV, and never, never write in the papers, is that Beckham at 32 is now tidier than he ever was at Manchester United. He spent four years training and playing with Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo, Raul, Guti and Robinho and some of their continental artistry has rubbed off. His touch is sharper now, his short game more varied and refined.
OK, David Beckham is not a great footballer.
He never was a great footballer. On his very best days in 1999 he was never more than two-thirds of a great footballer, and on most days he was just a good technician with a great engine.
Agent Pini Zihavi said in March that our World Cup was ruined by jealousy of Beckham's status. Eriksson's special relationship with his captain meant that he was willing to play Becks when he was crocked or half-fit or still recovering from a metatarsal.
In Estonia, as Beckham shaped the game against the pub side of Group E, Frank Lampard seemed to sulk his way through the former captain's comeback.
But of course Beckham was no longer captain. He came back as one of the boys and will be one of the boys from now on, as far as that is possible.
Real Zaragoza play Real Madrid at 7.30 on Saturday night and it's live on Sky Sports 1.
We don't know whether Real Madrid will win.But we know that Beckham won't bottle it, if he can he recover from a sprained left ankle.Van Nistelrooy says he is sure Becks will play.
Real and Barcelona each have 72 points. If both win their last two games, Madrid will be champions on their head-to-head results.
On the last weekend, Real are at home to Mallorca.
This weekend Barcelona play city rivals Espanyol without Ronaldinho, who has red-carded two weeks ago for retaliation against Getafe.
Although every England match is a drama these days, Beckham reckons he will be there for Euro 2008. McClaren is cautious, as always, but Glenn Hoddle says, "At 32, you're more suited to international football than you are to Premiership football."
It's just a shame that McClaren doesn't have the balls to use a few new players, as France's Domenech is now doing with right back Francois Clerc of Lyon and midfielder Samir Nasri, who is Ribery's pal at Marseilles.