'I just want to make people happy'

The England debutant Shaun Wright-Phillips said it was a dream come true to score on debut for his country. The Manchester City forward came on for Nicky Butt after 52 minutes and scored a wonderful solo goal 20 minutes later.

The England debutant Shaun Wright-Phillips said it was a dream come true to score on debut for his country. The Manchester City forward came on for Nicky Butt after 52 minutes and scored a wonderful solo goal 20 minutes later.

"It's absolutely everything I've always wanted - to become a footballer and play for England, so to get a goal on my debut tops it off," Wright-Phillips said.

"My confidence is due to the players I've been training with the last two days. It's down to the people around me.

"It's great to make people happy - my family, my friends and myself - that's all I want to do. Hopefully I'll get picked for the World Cup qualifiers in September and I'll take each step as it comes after that."

For David Beckham and Sven Goran Eriksson, whose private lives and public abilities had been ruthlessly debated over the past six months, last night's victory over Ukraine represented a deliverance.

The return of the swagger to the England captain and a convincing display against limited opposition has given Eriksson a little breathing space before the World Cup qualifiers begin.

"It has to be a confidence booster," said Beckham. "We were disappointed with our performances in the European Championship. We needed that as players, the manager needed that and the fans needed to see a good performance."

"As a player he has been criticised and I can never understand that. Never ever," Eriksson said. "He has been one of our best players 90 per cent of the time for the last three and a half years.

"But you can't expect a footballer to be No 1 on the pitch all the time. David Beckham lost confidence in himself simply, because he knows what he can do."