Cole rose, his neck arched to give full power, and the inadequacy of the effort was disguised only when it fell to Owen, who hit the post with a header of his own.Nothing could mask Cole’s inadequacy 10 minutes later. Again it was Scholes’ quick thinking that gave Cole space when none had existed before, and as he turned away from his marker it seemed he merely had to be accurate to find the net. When the ball flew by the post it possibly marked the end of his international career.With that the crowd began shouting for Emile Heskey and, although he survived the Liverpool striker’s entrance, when he came on for McManaman, he could not escape when Robbie Fowler was introduced.”He was unlucky,”‘ Eriksson said, defending his striker. “He had a good chance and missed it but he is an excellent player and I am happy with him. He did well.”Nevertheless Cole’s departure was greeted with applause rather than the boos that had marked McManaman’s exit It could be the final fanfare to his international career..

Michael Owen may have been voted man of the match yesterday, but David Beckham had been the man of the week, and afterwards was the man of the moment. And true to his role, England’s captain was keen to share credit for the result. “I was pleased, but this victory was not just about me,” he said. “The team played well and the crowd deserve praise for the way they got behind us and helped us when we were struggling a little in the first half. Michael Owen may have been voted man of the match yesterday, but David Beckham had been the man of the week, and afterwards was the man of the moment.

And true to his role, England’s captain was keen to share credit for the result. “I was pleased, but this victory was not just about me,” he said. “The team played well and the crowd deserve praise for the way they got behind us and helped us when we were struggling a little in the first half.
“From a personal point of view, it hasn’t been a matter of me playing badly for six months I never doubted my ability. If you work hard and train well you will get the breaks eventually.”Beckham also scored the winner, his first England goal since the free-kick against Colombia in France 98 “It’s been a long time coming,” he said “But it was a team goal. I was lucky to be the one on the end of a really good move.”His coach was slightly more revealing. “I hope Alex Ferguson rests him more often,” Sven Goran Eriksson said.Gary Neville, who said he could do nothing to avoid scoring his own-goal, also singled Beckham out.

“Taking on more responsibility is not a problem for David,” he said. “There is not a lot that he hasn’t seen in his career and I think he’s at the peak of his game.”Sometimes when you get to his age, you need that extra challenge The England captaincy has given Becks that As long as he’s playing for England he will remain captain. David represents the future.”Neville felt Beckham’s performance perfectly illustrated the way the team function “We never give up,” he said. “Even when we went a goal down, we kept fighting and trying to play That sums up the manager’s fresh approach. We deserved the win.”Finland’s central defender, Sami Hyypia was less convinced. “England equalised at a crucial point,” said the Liverpool defender.

“If they hadn’t scored just before half-time, it might have been a different story. I am very proud of my team and I felt we were unlucky not to take at least a point.”Mikael Forssell, who knows the English game well, believes that England will have to be far sharper in three days’ time. “They only became dangerous when they went forward in the second half,” said the on-loan Crystal Palace striker. “But they were vulnerable to set-pieces and I believe that they will find Wednesday’s match against Albania very difficult.”Albania are a hard-working team.