England do enough against Ecuador; through to quarter-final

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Sunday, June 25, 2006

A David Beckham free kick was the difference as England went through to the quarter-finals of the 2006 Fifa World Cup after a 1-0 win over Ecuador, Sunday.

For the neutral football fan the game was not especially attractive to look at. There were only 7 shots on target in the 90 minutes and neither team controlled the play well. The scrappy match was broken by up 37 fouls.

The game had temperatures at around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, which caused several English players, including Beckham, to suffer from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Beckham was sick on the pitch shortly after his goal and was substituted before the end. [1]

Ecuador had the best of the first 45 minutes. The slow tempo of the game seemed to lead to simple errors of concentration from England and favoured Ecuador's passing play.

Ecuador had slightly more ball possession over the game and also the first chance. John Terry's back header to his keeper fell short but Ashley Cole slid in to deflect Carlos Tenorio's shot onto Paul Robinson's crossbar.

In the second half England put more pressure on Ecuador's goal. However, passes into lone striker Wayne Rooney – who played 90 minutes for the first time since he recovered from injury – were often off-target.

England's best chance to score from free play followed Wayne Rooney trickery on the left touchline. The striker evaded his marker but Frank Lampard spooned Rooney's cut back high over the bar.

Beckham's free kick was a trademark fast curled pass from over 30 yards which beat the opposition wall and took a small touch off the fingertips of Cristian Mora before nestling into the bottom right corner of the net. The goal meant David Beckham had broken an English record by scoring in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups, the first English player ever to score in three different World Cups.

England were scheduled to meet the winner of game 52, Portugal, in the quarter-final of the World Cup in Gelsenkirchen on July 1.

Round of sixteen

Match 51

June 25, 2006 17:00
	England	1–0	Ecuador	Gottlieb Daimler Stadion
	Beckham 60'

Attendance: 52'000

Formations

England

Right wing	Right	Center	Left	Left wing

		Paul Robinson (GK) 78'
Owen Hargreaves	Rio Ferdinand		John Terry 18'	Ashley Cole
		Michael Carrick
David Beckham (C)				Joe Cole
	Steven Gerrard		Frank Lampard
		Wayne Rooney

Substitutes

77' Jamie Carragher 82' for Joe Cole
87' Aaron Lennon for Beckham
92'+ Stewart Downing for Steven Gerrard

denotes one goal scored.

Ecuador

Right wing	Right	Center	Left	Left wing

		Cristian Mora (GK)
Ulises De La Cruz 67'	Ivan Hurtado (C)		Giovanny Espinoza	Neicer Reasco

Luis Valencia 24'	Edwin Tenorio		Segundo Castillo	Edison Mendez

	Carlos Tenorio 37'		Augustin Delgado

Substitutes

69' Christian Lara for Edwin Tenorio
72' Ivan Kaviedes for Carlos Tenorio

denotes one goal scored.

Officials

Referee: Frank De Bleeckere

Assistant referee: Peter Hermans

Assistant referee: Walter Vromans

Fourth referee: Oscar Ruiz

Fifth referee: Jose Navia

Sources

"England 1-0 Ecuador" — BBC Online, June 25, 2006
"Fifa match report" — Fifa, June 25, 2006
"Beckham's free kick seals England win" — ESPN (AP), June 25, 2006

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