Beckham forced to tread carefully

Nine weeks ago, he lay stricken on a Spanish pitch, not knowing precisely what injury had befallen him, but fearful of the worst. David Beckham believed, with every reason, that the World Cup was a distant ambition. If he made it at all, the chances were that England would be on the point of departure. Neither could be further from the truth.

The reality is that the England captain has had to tread carefully on that damaged left foot – there was evidence here last night when presented with an opportunity on that side that he would still rather avoid using it if possible – and gradually condition himself. He did finish the match with a pained expression and quickly loosened his left boot. No problem, he insisted, just a little discomfort from wearing studs for the first time.

England and their manager, Sven Goran Eriksson, will be praying that there really was no sign of a setback in his recovery because as Beckham has steadily become the midfielder we recognise of old so his team have grown in stature. The belief is almost tangible, even within the less-celebrated members of the squad. "For me, personally, Argentina was special, but as captain I'm proud of the players to have put on a performance like that," he declared after last night's 3-0 victory over Denmark, standing at a podium with all the composure of his pop star wife, Victoria. "We're a young team but we're not scared to play football, as we have done against some of the best teams in the world."

What about Brazil next, he was asked? "Well, Brazil, or Belgium," he said. "There've been a lot of shocks in this World Cup. Of course, if it is Brazil they are one of the best teams in the world. But Belgium are a good team, too."

Picking out David Seaman for particular attention – "He was excellent again tonight" – Beckham added: "It was never easy. At the end it was 3-0, but Denmark are a very hard team to break down."

Something tells you that inside there is more than a quiver of anticipation at what the next fortnight may hold. "It [the final] is a game closer now, just two games away. But we aren't getting carried away."

Michael Owen is confident he will be fit for Friday's match in Shizuoka. The Liverpool striker found the net for the first time in the tournament in adding England's second goal, but he was substituted at half-time with a groin problem.

Owen, like Beckham, is playing down his problem and insisted he would have played on had the match still been in the balance. But he was rested for the second 45 minutes and was replaced by Robbie Fowler, with England already three goals to the good at the interval.

Owen said: "I felt something in my groin after a couple of minutes. I haven't had any groin problems before, so I wasn't sure what it was. I played on for 45 minutes, but when we went 3-0 up I thought there was no point in carrying on and leaving yourself exposed to get an injury for the next game. It was a precautionary type thing and if the scoreline had been goalless then I would have probably carried on." He was pleased to find the net for the first time in five internationals and said: "I wasn't worried as I knew it was going to come."

The Liverpool striker believes it would suit England to come up against Ronaldo, Rivaldo and co, saying: "To face Brazil would be the best for us, because the facts show that we always do well against the better sides. They are one of the best sides in the world. They are still the best and it would be nice to beat them – if we get them."

But Denmark's goalkeeper, Thomas Sorensen, whose error gave England an early lead, warned that they would have to raise their game to have a chance of ousting the Brazilians. The Sunderland goalkeeper said: "I thought it was a bit too easy for England today and they didn't really have to prove too much. They are a good team – but they will have to play better than against us if they want to get far in this tournament. I think you will find they will have a lot more problems against Brazil, if they play them, than we gave them. But we still created a lot of chances and with a bit of luck we could have scored two or three goals.

"I think they can do better. I think David Beckham will probably get better. I don't think he is 100 per cent fit." But in six days' time he may be – and how a Brazilian challenge would inspire him.