England players celebrate David Beckham's (2nd L) goal against Ecuador during their second round World Cup 2006 soccer match in Stuttgart June 25, 2006.[Reuters]

The English captain, whose curling dead-ball kicks inspired the 2003 movie titled "Bend it Like Beckham," snatched the ball from the referee, lined up his planned trajectory and sent the ball spinning and twisting toward the goal.

It hooked ever so carefully over a defensive wall of four Ecuadoreans in bright yellow shirts and dipped toward the corner. Goalkeeper Cristian Mora lunged and got his fingers to it, but could only push the ball off the inside of the right post.

"He proved his worth today," teammate Rio Ferdinand said.

Becoming the first Englishman to score in three World Cups, Beckham ran wildly toward the center of the field, hooking an arm around Ashley Cole. Adams, the focus of television cameras, jumped up in the stands.

"I have stopped saying anything to the critics about David Beckham," England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said. "He's maybe the best player on set pieces in the world, and he's still criticized."

Despite the heat and humid weather, Beckham oddly switched from short sleeves to long at halftime, and left late in the game despite feeling better.

"We've got to overcome this because there will be other days like this," Beckham said. "We make things hard for ourselves. We don't keep the ball as well as we can do."

Beckham's goal was just his 17th in 93 international appearances, but one sure to be included on the tournament's highlights.

Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez, whose team had advanced beyond the opening round for the first time, said he was proud of his team's accomplishment in the face of an overwhelming favorite.

"An extremely complicated match," Suarez said. "It was decided as I expected, either on a dead ball or a genius move. All the credit is for the person who kicked it. My men did not fail."

Ecuador's Carlos Tenorio had the first good scoring chance in the 12th minute when defender John Terry's attempt at a clearing header popped up in the air behind him. Tenorio, one-on-one against goalkeeper Paul Robinson, settled the ball, and his right-footed shot deflected off a sliding Cole and off the crossbar.

"I thought the ball was going in," Tenorio said. "If the play ends up being a goal, the course of the match would have been very different.

England didn't mind winning ugly.

"Results win tournaments. Performances don't," Ferdinand said. "If we get a good performance, fantastic, that's what we aim for. But if it doesn't happen and we get the result, who's going to cry about that?"