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Only accurate David Beckham's penalty kick was enough for England to win the World Cup round of 16 match against Ecuador. Although they achieved victory, the English team once again did not show good gameplay. In fairly dull matches, the England team did not look like a team capable of winning the World Cup. Nevertheless, by winning the match, they advanced to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium) England 1–0 Ecuador 60' [1 - 0] David Beckham England: Robinson; Hargreaves, Ferdinand, Terry, A.Cole; Beckham (87‘ Lennon), Gerrard (91' Downing), Carrick, Lampard, J.Cole (77‘ Carragher); Rooney. Ecuador: Mora; De la Cruz, Hurtado, Espinoza, Reasco; Mendez, Castillo, Valencia, E.Tenorio (69‘ Lara); Delgado, C.Tenorio (71‘ Kaviedes).
England started the match using a tactical formation of 4-5-1, with the lone striker Wayne Rooney. Representing Manchester United, Rooney was one of the most active players in the England team, although he did not demonstrate his best game.
The first dangerous moment in the match came from John Terry near his own goal. In the 10th minute of the match, the defender unsuccessfully tried to head the ball, which fell to Carlos Tenorio and he found himself alone against goalkeeper Paul Robinson. The Ecuadorian forward hesitated to shoot for a moment, which allowed defender Ashley Cole to return to defense and kick the ball out to the goalpost.
England struggled to create dangerous situations near Ecuador's goal, but the latter did it themselves. Ivan Hurtado lost the ball to Wayne Rooney near his penalty area, and just at the last moment defender Giovanny Espinoza managed to stop the young Englishman.
After an unimpressive and somewhat boring first half, the teams split to rest with the score at 0-0. The game did not change much in the second half.
At the start of the second half, Rooney started to play more actively. Initially failing to reach Gerrard's pass, the forward later tried to shake off the opponents and was penalized for a foul.
Shortly after, the first goal was scored. Following a dubious foul against Joe Cole, a penalty kick was awarded near the left corner of Ecuador's penalty area. David Beckham, who is England's designated set-piece taker, beautifully shot the ball past the wall and into the bottom left corner of Ecuador's goal. The team captain became the first English player to score at least one goal in three World Cups.
After taking the lead, England started to play a bit more freely. Lampard missed good chances to score, and shortly after, the same midfielder received the ball from Hurtado but inaccurately passed it to Rooney, missing the opportunity to double their lead.
Despite the loss, Ecuador did not give up. Antonio Valencia's long-distance shot forced goalkeeper Paul Robinson to deflect the ball over the crossbar. The Ecuadorians started to rush, and many of their passes did not reach their targets. Lampard missed two more great chances to score.
As the match neared its end, England tried to keep possession and run down the clock. Ecuador failed to mount more attacks, and their high balls did not trouble the English defenders. Neither team created any more dangerous opportunities, and the quarter-final match ended with a narrow victory for the England team.
After this match, all England fans should be even more concerned. Most teams try to improve their game quality as they progress to the knockout stages, while the English game deteriorates. The Ecuadorians, not inferior to their famous opponents, lost only due to David Beckham's mastery in taking penalty kicks. To overcome the quarter-final barrier, Sven-Goran Eriksson's protégés must significantly improve their game.
