England's chances of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup in Germany were boosted today when they edged past Austria by a single goal. England made the break through on 25 minutes when they were awarded a penalty when Micheal Owen was tacking down in the area, David Beckham handed over penalty duties to Frank Lampard after the captain had missed his last three penalties for England and Lampard slotted home to give England the lead. Micheal Owen nearly doubled England's lead three mintes later when he latched onto the end of a Frank Lampard ball but Austria keeper Macho made a good save. England captain David Beckham was handed a yellow card after a challenge on Ibertsberger - then sent off seconds later for a foul on the same player as he raced towards the penalty area.
The red card prompted Eriksson into a cautious substitution, replacing Joe Cole with Ledley King. England's woes piled up even further when Campbell pulled up clutching his hamstring and was replaced by Ferdinand. Even with only 10 men, Lampard was still able to produce two fine saves from Macho in the closing stages.
England really needed this result because of recent Worl Cup qualifying results but they were less than convincing. Beckham's second booking was extremly harsh because he barely touched the Austrian player. Unlucky Sol Campbell because it looks as though he will be out of action again for some time after he limped off mid way through the second half with a hamstring injury.
