Soccer: England's cup bid on course

England's World Cup qualification campaign was securely back on course yesterday after a 2-0 victory in Greece put Sven Goran Eriksson's side in a strong position to take second spot in group nine.

There is still a chance of England topping the group by beating Germany. But even if England do win in Munich in September they have to improve their goal difference to knock the Germans off the perch they have occupied since beating England at Wembley last October.

Germany, who won 2-0 in Albania yesterday, top the group with 16 points from six games. England are second on 10 from five, and Greece third on six from six.

A scrambled Paul Scholes goal after 64 minutes and a superb late free-kick by David Beckham were a fair reward for England, who gave a mature performance in the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

"This was a very difficult game. To win in Greece is always very difficult," said Eriksson, the first England manager to win his first five games in charge.

"In the first half, we had a lot of patience and waited until the opportunities came. After the break, we played excellent [football] and we deserved to win.

"Now we look forward to Germany where anything can happen. Of course we can win it, but we can also lose it. Germany is a great football country and a great team, so we'll wait and see."

Beckham's curling free-kick three minutes from time, his third goal in four internationals, capped another excellent performance from the captain, but the Manchester United midfielder said it was a group effort.

Asked if England could win in Munich, Beckham said: "If we play like that ... well, it just puts us in a better position."

British bookmakers William Hill rate England as 20-1 to win the World Cup behind 4-1 favourites Argentina. Holders France are at 9-2 with Brazil 11-2.

Elsewhere, Denmark, quarter-finalists in 1998, and Sweden, semifinalists in 1994, went top of group three and four respectively.

The Danes were unimpressive in downing Malta 2-1, but Swedish hotshot Henrik Larsson notched four as his side thrashed Moldova 6-0.

The Republic of Ireland stayed top of group two, marking Steve Staunton's record 89th cap with a 2-0 win over Estonia in Talinn, although they were being shadowed by Portugal, who stayed one point behind with a match in hand after downing Cyprus 6-0.

Group one is tight, with Russia still leading the way after a narrow 2-1 win over Luxembourg, although Slovenia did themselves a favour by leapfrogging Switzerland into second place with a 1-0 win in Berne.

Poland's hold on group five and their dream of reaching the finals for the first time since 1986 was not weakened by their 1-1 draw in Armenia because rivals Belarus and Ukraine were also held to draws, by Norway and Wales respectively.

In group seven, Spain's 1-1 draw with Israel gives new hope to Austria, who are three points behind Spain with a game in hand as the two sides prepare to meet in Madrid on September 1.

- AGENCIES