Beckham the talisman has inside track on glory

How priceless is Golden Balls? Having come to the rescue of his team-mates on countless occasions in the last 18 months ­ remember Finland at Anfield, Greece at Old Trafford, and Argentina in Sapporo? ­ the England captain was at it again last night.

If there were any doubts remaining about Beckham's ability to grab a game by the scruff of the neck and turn it around completely, they were surely dispelled in rain-drenched Bratislava. True, Slovakia are not exactly world-beaters, but the fact remains that Beckham has successfully ushered England through the emergency exit.

As England performed with even less purpose than against Greece in that now famous World Cup qualifier at Old Trafford last October, Beckham refused to follow the poor example of the other players. In a mirror image of the 2-2 draw with the Greeks, Beckham made bold decisions for the good of the team.

Following a lacklustre opening 20 minutes, during which England failed to string more than two passes together or indeed stop Slovakia from dominating proceedings, Beckham realised that his side were going to be in for a tough night. The Manchester United No 7 was sensing the dangers that lay ahead long before the rest of the players.

He could do nothing about Slovakia's opener, as the England defence watched their oponents find a path to goal. By the same token, he had everything to do with England's near-miraculous escape to victory.

Even before the half-time break, during which the England manager, Sven Goran Eriksson, made some much-needed positional changes, Beckham had started to move inside. In the manner of a true international captain, he decided to take control by abandoning his right flank to run the show from the centre of midfield.

In truth, Beckham was all over the park during the second half, passing, probing, and encouraging his team-mates to keep believing and move forward. Beckham has always said that Bryan Robson was his boyhood idol. After this match, he must be close to matching the former Manchester United and England skipper in terms of influence on the national side. Beckham has grown into the role of captain over the past two years, learning to address the media more confidently and, most crucially, bark orders at the players.

Being a captain when everything is going well and a team are playing with confidence is straight forward enough, but it is when the pressure is on and a team are under-performing that the best leaders shine through.

Beckham's strength is that he leads by example. There is the accurate passing and committed tackling (although even he momentarily lost his nerve last night with an uncharacteristic two-footed lunge, which rather fortunately went unpunished).

But Beckham's greatest contribution to the England cause since he was first handed the armband by Peter Taylor in November 2000 has been his goalscoring. Last night's match-turning free-kick was yet another gem to add to the growing list of crucial goals. Before this 63rd minute free-kick, which sailed all of 35 yards before ending in the back of the Slovakian net, there had been a vital equaliser against Finland at Anfield in March 2001, another even more important strike against Greece 12 months ago, and a neat penalty in the group game with Argentina during last summer's World Cup.

Who can question his importance now? And, more pertinently, who can argue against him moving inside on a permanent basis? It has become increasingly apparent that England function better when Beckham is bossing matters from a central position. The midfielder has been asking for the playmaker's role for some time and, at 27, he should be given the chance to make it his own.

He certainly had no hesitation in claiming the equaliser. And why not? As England's saviour, the least Beckham deserved was a goal.

In many ways, this was the night Golden Balls become Platinum Balls.