Soccer: Beckham set to face Sweden says Eriksson

England soccer captain David Beckham is set to play in their World Cup opener against Sweden on Sunday after recovering from a broken foot, manager Sven-Goran Eriksson said yesterday.

"He did a session this morning and he did everything - free-kicks, corners, a lot of shooting and a lot of running," Eriksson told a news conference in the run-up to the group F game in Saitama.

"Hopefully, this afternoon or tomorrow morning he will do everything with us. Hopefully, there will not be a reaction and, yes, we think he will be ready for Sweden.

"If things go as we think, he will start."

Asked if he was taking a gamble on Beckham's fitness, Eriksson said: "I don't think so. Everything depends on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday practices.

"But today I was out there on the pitch and I saw he did a very, very good session and without any pain at all. I was very pleased with what I saw today.

"He worked for more than one hour with the physios and fitness coach. It was very good to see him."

Beckham broke his foot in a tackle by Argentine midfielder Aldo Duscher in Manchester United's European Champions League quarter-final second leg match at home to Deportivo Coruna of Spain in April.

England's inspirational midfielder has not played since and has only just started practising with the ball in the past few days.

His return to the starting line-up will be an immense boost to England's troubled World Cup campaign, which has been rocked by a series of injury blows.

Not only is Beckham one of the most gifted players in the game, his captaincy has lifted England when they needed it - notably when he scored a last-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Greece in a qualifier that booked their place in the finals.

- REUTERS

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