David Beckham's England milestones: Moldova to Slovakia via Argentina and Greece

By Mirror Football in Mirror Football Blog

Published 10:21 15/03/10

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David Beckham's England career is over after Fabio Capello said he was too old to return to the Three Lions fold.

Here, MirrorFootball charts the key moments in Goldenballs' glittering international career.

Moldova 0-3 England, September 1, 1996 - Glenn Hoddle gives Beckham a first cap in the World Cup qualifier in Chisinau. He plays the full 90 minutes.

England 2-0 Colombia, June 26, 1998 - Beckham finally does for country what he has regularly been doing for club, scoring a first international goal - a trademark free-kick - to move England towards the World Cup knockout phases.

England 2-2 Argentina, June 30, 1998 (Argentina win on penalties) - Beckham swiftly turns from hero to villain in the following game, when he is sent off for kicking out at Diego Simeone. England go on to lose the game and the midfielder is made a scapegoat by fans and the media.

Italy 1-0 England, November 15, 2000 - Caretaker boss Peter Taylor hands Beckham the captain's armband for the first time for the friendly in Turin but Gennaro Gattuso spoils the occasion with the winner. Sven-Goran Eriksson decides to stick with him as skipper.

England 2-2 Greece, October 6, 2001 - Arguably Beckham's greatest moment in an England shirt. He caps a superb display with a stunning 93rd-minute free-kick in front of his home Old Trafford crowd to book his country's World Cup finals place. The goal confirms his re-emergence as the nation's darling.

England 1-0 Argentina, June 7, 2002 - Four years on, Beckham lays his World Cup demons to rest, drilling a penalty past Pablo Cavallero to keep England on course for the knockout phases and hammer a nail in the coffin of Argentina's own doomed campaign.

Portugal 2-2 England, June 24, 2004 (Portugal win on penalties) - Having missed a penalty against France in the group stages, Beckham misses from the spot again as England exit Euro 2004 on penalties.

England 1-0 Austria, October 8, 2005 - Beckham suffers the ignominy of becoming the first England captain to be sent off and the first England player to be red-carded twice after receiving two yellow cards in two minutes for fouls on Andreas Ibertsberger.

England 3-2 Argentina, November 12, 2005 - Fitting that Argentina, the side with whom Beckham has so much history, are the opponents when he captains England for the 50th time in a friendly in Geneva. Beckham's knock-down sets up Wayne Rooney for England's first before two late Michael Owen goals pinch victory.

England 0-0 Portugal, July 1, 2006 (Portugal win on penalties) - Portugal inflict further penalty shoot-out heartache on England in Beckham's final game as England skipper at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Beckham is forced off after half-time with an ankle injury and watches from the sidelines as England crash out in the quarter-finals. Beckham stands down as skipper the next day.

England 1-1 Brazil, June 1, 2007 - Steve McClaren bows to growing clamour for Beckham's return by recalling him for the first game at the new Wembley as Brazil are the visitors. The decision is vindicated when Beckham crosses for John Terry to open the scoring.

France 1-0 England, March 26, 2008 - Beckham wins his 100th cap in Fabio Capello's second match in charge, an otherwise forgettable defeat as Franck Ribery scores the only goal for the hosts from the penalty spot.

Spain 2-0 England, February 11, 2009 - Beckham equals Bobby Moore's England record for outfield caps with his 108th, coming on as a half-time substitute in Seville.

England 4-0 Slovakia, March 28, 2009 - Breaks Moore's record with an impressive cameo performance in a one-sided encounter.

England 3-1 Belarus, October 14 2009 - Wins 115th and final England cap in Wembley friendly.

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