Careful England edge past Ecuador

David Beckham's second-half free-kick proved enough as England clawed out a 1-0 victory against Ecuador to seal a place in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals.

Historic strike
Beckham struck on the hour, placing a free-kick inside Cristian Mora's near post to become the first England player to score at three World Cups. The afternoon looked far from momentous until then as the sides struggled with the intense heat in Stuttgart although it was England that made the brighter start, with Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard combining well in midfield. But it was Ecuador that fashioned the first real chance of the game on 12 minutes when John Terry's slip sent Carlos Tenorio clear on goal.

Tenorio chance
With only the goalkeeper to beat the 27-year-old dawdled, however, allowing Ashley Cole to get back and deflect his eventual effort on to the crossbar. It was a stark warning for Sven-Göran Eriksson's team and they immediately dropped the tempo, although they still created chances, with Lampard finding space time and again before his final touch let him down. The pressure eventually told and although Paul Robinson was forced to paw Luis Valencia's shot away at the near post soon after, England were never really threatened as they booked a last-eight encounter with Portugal.