From the archives: England 2 - 2 Greece. 2001

It's time to have a look at one of David Beckham's finest performances at Old Trafford. 

Greater Manchester Football published this as part of their 'Magic Moments' series. 

At times, the soon to be former Man United number 7 was almost playing Greece on his own. No player worked harder to make sure England qualified for the 2002 World Cup.

Sven Goran Eriksson's England side were trailing the Greeks 2-1 deep into injury time and they looked destined for a potentially difficult play-off against Ukraine.

David Beckham was having none of that. He had actually failed to score from five previous free kicks, secured qualification for Japan and Korea with a dramatic goal in stoppage time. 

The memories

Despite the match taking place over 20 years ago, it is still spoken about with fondness by a many England fans. Just have a look at the scenes behind Beckham!

Captain David Beckham celebrates scoring the equaliser from a free-kick against Greece in the dying seconds at Old Trafford. The 2-2 draw securing the Three Lions qualification for the World Cup! 🏆(2001) pic.twitter.com/MaJqFZdkuw

— SPORTbible (@sportbible) April 23, 2018

One England fan told us: "Beckham never deserved the criticism that he got after the sending off against Argentina in 1998 but this still felt like total redemption for him. What a player he was!"

The wider context

Despite a bad start, this was a pretty memorable qualifying campaign for England. Only a few weeks earlier, they thrashed Germany 5-1 in what is often considered to be the best England performance of the modern era. It's a shame that the World Cup dreams were ultimately ended by Brazil but the road to get there was great fun.