Is Beckham on long last leg?

Apart from delivering accurate passes, Becks can do little as he nears the twilight of his career

It’s very easy to knock David Beckham, and lord knows it’s been done enough over the past decade. But as he enters the twilight of his international career, Beckham is playing some of his best football, and is clearly loving his captaincy.

His diminishing importance to the England team is because of his limited abilities — apart from delivering the most accurate long passes, especially crosses from the right, by any current player, and running hard right through the match, he can do precious little. He can’t dribble, can’t tackle and doesn’t have the slide-rule short-passes wired into his DNA unlike, say, Wayne Rooney. Admittedly, many recent England goals have originated from his right foot but the question being asked, for some time now, is, ‘Is it enough?’

And yet watching him play yesterday brought a smile to the face because here was someone clearly enjoying his football and, more important, the responsibility that comes with being the captain of such a young team. Interestingly, he has not changed his hairstyle for this tournament: no Mohican or buzzcut or skinhead. It seems he’s much more focused on his game.

His football is still good — he was named FIFA’s man of the match for his cross to Crouch that resulted in England’s first goal. His delight in that goal, and the manner in which Crouch ran to him to acknowledge his contribution, said a lot. So did his effort later in the game, when Carragher was replaced by Lennon; that meant Beckham had to effectively play at right back, a job he did with typical enthusiasm.

All of this may not be enough to save Beckham, though, when Eriksson — a clear admirer of his talents — departs after the World Cup. There is a growing feeling that the FA, and the new coach, should look ahead and get a captain for the future. Gerrard is one obvious choice, John Terry another; both have been successful captains at club level. That may enable the think tank to bring in the more artistic Aaron Lennon, or even Shaun Wright-Phillips, but Peter Crouch, for one, will miss those radar-like crosses whipped in from the right.