England Muddle Through

England's progress in this World Cup continues to startle only in its humdrumness. They hardly created a chance against Ecuador in Stuttgart, but a splendid second-half free-kick from David Beckham was enough to set up a quarter-final against Holland or Portugal. It was a muted triumph, but it maintained Sven-Goran Eriksson's record of reaching the quarter-finals in every major tournament as England coach. On this performance, however, it seems unlikely that he can take England into a semi-final for the first time.

Carlos Tenorio hit the bar early on for an otherwise poor Ecuador, who continued the tradition of hitherto impressive sides from south America's second tier falling in the second round of the World Cup, and once England went ahead they were never in any serious danger of surrendering their lead.

Eriksson's side had started the match with a calm, crisp authority, their new 4-1-4-1 formation making for a baggier, more comfortable fit than the constrictive 4-4-2, yet it was Ecuador who had the first big chance in the 11th minute when Tenorio hit the crossbar.

John Terry, who was the last man, woefully misjudged a defensive header to put Tenorio through one-on-one, but Ashley Cole got back heroically to deflect his shot onto the bar. It was admirable defending, yet Tenorio should not have given Cole the chance to make an intervention.

The scare seemed to make both sides think the unthinkable - Ecuador that they might win, England that they might not - and for a time the match swung back and forth haphazardly, with both sides particularly jittery when defending set pieces.

The heat and the absence of Peter Crouch meant that England showed the ball more respect than usual. If anything, however, they showed it too much respect: their possession play was painfully ponderous, and they did not create a single first-half chance. It was crying out for some pace and quintessentially English aggression.

Michael Carrick showed his usual leggy grace, but the much-hyped Joe Cole flirted with hubris and Beckham was again excruciatingly superfluous in open play. But there is a reason he is in the side, and he showed it after 59 minutes.

From 25 yards out in the inside-left channel, Beckham whipped and dipped a perfectly placed free-kick that the goalkeeper Christian Mora could only help onto the post and in. It was almost a reprise of his free-kick against Colombia in 1998, and made Beckham the first Englishman to score in three different World Cups.

Beckham was physically sick after scoring, but the rush of the goal settled the stomachs of his team-mates, and for a time England were entirely dominant. Three minutes later Lampard dragged a left-footed half-volley wide from the edge of the box, and then he tried to play Rooney in when he had a clear shot 12 yards out. Soon after, Rooney returned the favour with a tantalising cutback at the end of a sublime run, but Lampard thrashed miserably over.

In complete contravention of the norms of recovering footballers, Rooney actually seemed to get sharper as the match went on, and forced a plunging save from Mora with a deflected shot from the edge of the box.

Ecuador were not entirely without threat - Paul Robinson had to beat away a stinging shot from Antonio Valencia at his near post, and a heavy touch on the edge of the area from Carrick, which evoked Steve McMahon's infamous howler against Ireland in 1990, allowed Edison Mendez to drag wide - but with Ashley Cole outstanding and Rio Ferdinand at his effortless best, England ended the match as comfortably as any side with only a one-goal lead in the World Cup's knockout stages can expect to be.

The problem is that, when they do get tested, there is no evidence to suggest they will come up with the right answers. Whether it is against Holland or Portugal, we shall find out in six days' time.