MANCHESTER, Oct 6: England coach Sven Goran Eriksson said David Beckham’s last minute goal against Greece had guaranteed a “marvellous afternoon” on Saturday.

Beckham’s free kick in injury time earned England a 2-2 draw and a place in the World Cup finals.

“It’s a marvellous afternoon, maybe not football-wise,” Eriksson said after the qualifier at Old Trafford.

“I don’t think they played very well today, certainly not in the first half. The second half was better, we showed a lot of character.

“It was very difficult, I think Greece played very well. We struggled, we suffered.

“In the first half we wanted it too much ... but we’re in the World Cup and that’s what counts.”

Beckham said it was “the best feeling ever”.

The Manchester United midfielder, virtually the only player to emerge with credit from a dire England performance, was on target with a free kick two minutes into injury time.

“We didn’t play the prettiest of games today but we kept battling,” he said.

“They just came back at us but the character of the team is unbelievable.

“For a young team to come back from 1-0 and then to go 2-1 down and then again to 2-2, it’s unbelievable.”

Of his injury time equaliser he said: “It was a good time to score it. We didn’t know the Germany score and when they told us it was 0-0 and that made it even better.

“We played without courage in the first half and we did not take enough risks,” Germany coach Rudi Voeller said of the first 45 minutes, which were reminiscent of Germany’s awful Euro 2000 performances on their way to a shock first-round exit.

“Given the way we played in the second half, I can’t really blame the players,” the former World Cup striker added.

“We kept trying and gave our best but that golden goal just never came. It was not a scenario for a weak heart.”

Finland, without hope of making the finals, fought bravely.

“This is the first time we have gained a point in Germany,” said Finland coach Antti Muurinen, who can be forgiven for forgetting a 2-1 win in Dresden in 1923 — the only time Finland beat Germany in 20 matches.—Reuters