August 29, 2008
Beckham And England Beats Trinidad & Tobago 3-0
Instead of preparing for the
European Championship, England completed its season with a 3-0
exhibition victory at Trinidad and Tobago.
With David Beckham wearing the captain's armband for the first
time since the 2006 World Cup, England built an early lead and
coasted. Gareth Barry scored his first goal for England - eight
years after his debut - to put the Three Lions ahead in the 12th
minute. Jermain Defoe added goals in the 16th and 49 minutes,
Beckham made his 102nd international appearance and captained
England for the first time since joining the Los Angeles Galaxy
last year,
"I was surprised and didn't expect it," Beckham said. "But
I'll always answer the call and be available for my country and
captain them as well - it was a surprise but I am honored to do so.
It was the centenary game for them but they wanted to beat England
and we had to put in a good performance and I think we did that."
The loudest cheer of the night was for 36-year-old Dwight Yorke,
who entered for T&T in the 75th minute. Yorke, a former Manchester
United star, retired from the national team last year but returned
for this match.
For three hours before the game, Trinidad's national stadium
reverberated to the sound of soca and steelpan music in a
celebratory atmosphere. The place was filled to capacity with
23,500 fans dressed mostly in white, matching the home team's
uniform.
Trinidad lost to England 2-0 in the first round of the 2006
World Cup, the only previous meeting. The Soca Warriors are
preparing for World Cup qualifiers against Bermuda on June 15 and
22.
England, which failed to qualify for Euros, plays the Czech
Republic in an exhibition game in August before beginning World Cup
qualifying in September.
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