England’s relationship with the World Cup has been defined, for the best part of six decades, by heartbreak arriving in the cruellest of fashions.
Three Lions fans have endured it all.
There was the moment of madness in Saint-Étienne. David Beckham, young and petulant, flicking a boot at Diego Simeone, ten men, out in the last 16 and a nation turned on its golden boy overnight.
Eight years later, Wayne Rooney saw red in Gelsenkirchen. A Cristiano Ronaldo wink to the Portugal bench, another quarter-final, another early bath and another summer of what might have been.
The 2010 World Cup brought a different kind of pain. Frank Lampard’s shot crashed off the bar and over the line against Germany – clearly, obviously over the line – and the referee waved play on. England lost 4-1.
The pattern has been agonising, relentless and very, very English.
But there have been moments of light. The story was never entirely bleak.
Michael Owen’s finish against Argentina in 1998 – the one that announced him to the world – remains one of the great England goals.
Steven Gerrard dragged England to the 2006 tournament with a hat-trick against Hungary that reminded everyone what this team could be.
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And perhaps the most famous of all – October 2001, Old Trafford. A nation holding its breath, Beckham stepped up, bent one into the top corner against Greece and sent England to the World Cup.
A legendary figure on and off the pitch, ‘Becks’ had a complicated relationship with international football, but he remains one of the most influential faces in the history of the sport.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s praise for David Beckham
Few people understood Beckham better than Sir Alex Ferguson, the man who gave him his debut at Manchester United and shaped him into one of the most recognisable footballers on the planet.
The legendary manager saw first-hand what made him different, and for all the free-kick goals, whipped crosses and audacious half-way line efforts, it was his work rate that the Scot valued more than anything, speaking back in 2013 after Beckham retired.
“The one thing he always had was unbelievable stamina as a kid. He had the best stamina in the club.
“He could run all day, and that has allowed him to stay in the game at that kind of level, playing for his country in his mid 30s. Coming from American football to do that is quite amazing, and he is an amazing person.”
Ferguson managed some of the greatest players of his generation across more than 25 years at Old Trafford.
He oversaw Eric Cantona’s transformation from volatile genius into Premier League icon. He built the class of ’92, nurturing Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and the Neville brothers from teenagers into champions.
He won the Champions League with a side containing Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane and Andy Cole.
Later came Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney and Ronaldo – a player whose own drive and determination has become almost mythical.
Ferguson worked with world-class talent for the better part of three decades, winning 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues in the process.
For him to single out Beckham above all of them tells you everything about the engine that drove one of England’s most iconic footballers.
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