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Featured Image Credit: Image: David Beckham
Topics: David Beckham, England, Football World Cup
Josh Lawless
Topics: David Beckham, England, Football World Cup
21 years ago today, David Beckham sent England to the World Cup with a stunning free-kick against Greece at Old Trafford.
Sven Goran-Eriksson's side were trailing 2-1 to Greece and a play-off game against Ukraine looked to be on the cards if they were to reach the 2002 World Cup.
The Three Lions captain had already taken five free-kicks from the game and though one of his set-piece crosses with found the head of Teddy Sheringham, who scored an equaliser to make it 1-1, his long-range efforts were not successful.
With time running out and the 93rd minute rapidly approaching, he whipped in an absolute beauty that nestled past Nikopolidis in the Greek goal and booked England's place in the showpiece.
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20 years later, Beckham, for the first time, decided to listen back to commentary of one of his greatest goals and shared the video to his followers on Instagram.
Alan Green described the drama on BBC Radio 5 Live and Beckham was quite clearly getting goosebumps.
"It had to be Beckham, England's Man of the Match!" was the line Green delivered when the net bulged.
Beckham was a true set-piece specialist and would regularly practice his free-kicks.
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Rare footage posted by Scott Allison, a UEFA A licensed coach, shows Beckham taking free-kicks from distance on the Old Trafford pitch, a day prior to England's crunch clash.
Beckham has a number of attempts from an array of angles and distances, with each effort serving as a different stage in finally reaching perfection.
That comes in the very final strike as the former Manchester United No.7 perfectly finds the net.
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They say practice makes perfect and Beckham's worldie proves that phrase rings true. That moment summed up Beckham as a player and helped create a legacy that means many view him as one of the best English players ever.