Eriksson hails captain Beckham

Teddy Sheringham and David Beckham celebrate

England coach Sven Goran Eriksson paid tribute to the attitude of his captain David Beckham after the midfielder's injury-time free-kick sent England to the World Cup finals.

Eriksson admitted his side had not played well during the first half of their crucial qualifier against Greece, which finished a 2-2 draw.

But he attributed the lack of character shown by England to nerves rather than over-confidence.

England twice came from behind through substitute Teddy Sheringham and Beckham's last-gasp equaliser.

And the draw was good enough for automatic qualification, with group rivals Germany only managing a 0-0 draw with Finland. The runners-up now face Ukraine in the play-offs.

Eriksson said: "We came out a bit better second half and finally scored a goal. It looked better but minutes later they scored again.

If you're that good a player you'll always come out at the end of the day as the hero

Michael Owen on David Beckham

"It seemed as though it would be a non-day, but of course at the end it was incredible.

"Germany finished 0-0 and then David Beckham stepped in and scored another great free kick.

"The tickets for the World Cup were ours."

Eriksson said he believed sheer determination from his captain had been a major contribution to the win.

He said: "You could see he wanted really hard to win this and he showed again he is a really great captain."

Fighting

Manchester United midfielder Beckham gave credit to his team-mates and said being able to play the game at Old Trafford was "the best feeling ever".

Relief for Eriksson at the final whistle

He said: "It wasn't the prettiest of games but we kept fighting back.

"The character of the team is unbelievable. We are young, and to come back from 1-0 to 1-1 then lose it again and come back again is amazing."

He added: "I had quite a few free-kicks and was disappointed with most of them.

"When I got my last chance, Teddy Sheringham said he would have it but I decided I'd take it."

Eriksson also praised the Greeks for their performance.

He said: "They were quick, good on the ball and aggressive.

"We didn't play well but we got the result we had to get and now, we are in the World Cup.

"It's much easier now, tonight we celebrate, and then we start to plan."

Sheringham, who became the quickest-scoring England substitute when equalising just 10 seconds after coming on, said: "It seemed like it was an important goal.

Frustrated

"But a minute later it wasn't looking so important - the important one was David's goal in injury-time.

"It wasn't really happening for us today - the pitch was sticky and the Greeks frustrated us. We couldn't get our passing going.

"The crowd got upset, we got upset and that makes you more panicky.

"But you just have to dig deep. The captain did that when we needed it. He ran himself into the ground.

"The performances wasn't good but it's all about character, about digging in and getting a result and that's what we've done today."

Injured England striker Michael Owen, whose hat-trick against Germany made Saturday's qualification possible, paid tribute to Beckham.

He said: "If you're that good a player you'll always come out at the end of the day as the hero.

"You always know what a world-class player he is and that one of these days he was going to take us to, or maybe even win us, a World Cup."

Owen added: "It's so exciting to know you could be part of an England squad which is going to another World Cup."

The late equaliser was a double blow for Greece's German coach Otto Rehagel.

"I was in a very bad situation after the game," he said.

"The referee was totally unacceptable," added Rehagel, who said he felt deprived of "an historic victory".