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Golden ball - Beckham's decisive Argentina penalty in 2002 |
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 Football News: It is rare for an England penalty taker to appear in a list of heroes, but David Beckham's penalty against Argentina in the group stages of the 2002 World Cup was heroic for a number of reasons.
Not only was it decisive in England's 1-0 victory, it was a defining moment in the England captain's career.
Beckham's last competitive appearance against Argentina had ended in misery and shame. Sent-off early in the second half of the second round encounter at the 1988 World Cup Finals, Beckham was pilloried far and wide by press and fans and blamed outright for England's subsequent agonising defeat.
While his subsequent appearances for the national team, and in particular his last gasp winner against Greece that enabled England to qualify for the 2002 finals, had redeemed him in the eyes of most England fans, the penalty against Argentina in Sapporo, Japan was the moment Beckham lived up to his iconic status.
The penalty, won by Michael Owen, came in the 44th minute of what had been a tight, nervous and fractious encounter. The cameras quickly turned to Beckham. Everyone in the ground and around the world knew this was a seminal moment.
The focus and concentration on Beckham's face was total as he composed himself, breathing heavily before letting out one big breath as he ran up and smashed the ball right down the centre of the goal.
The outburst of pent-up emotion in his badge-kissing celebration showed the intensity of the moment and what it meant for England and for Beckham. The torment of 1988 had finally been put to rest.
It was one of the few penalties English fans do not mind being repeated time and again. (Sportasylum)
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