Editing David Beckham (section)

===Euro 2000 and England captaincy===
The abuse that Beckham was receiving from English supporters peaked during [[UEFA Euro 2000 Group A#Portugal vs England|England's 3–2 defeat]] by [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]] in [[UEFA Euro 2000|Euro 2000]], a match where Beckham set up two goals, when a group of England supporters taunted him throughout the match.<ref>A reference to Brooklyn {{cite web |title=Leader – Play games behind closed doors |work=New Statesman |date=26 June 2000 |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200006260003 |access-date=4 October 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127032613/http://www.newstatesman.com/200006260003|archive-date=27 November 2011}}</ref> Beckham responded by [[finger (gesture)|raising his middle finger]] and, while the gesture attracted some criticism, many of the newspapers that had previously encouraged his vilification asked their readers to stop abusing him.<ref>{{cite news |title=Media sympathy for Beckham's gesture |work=BBC Sport |date=14 June 2000 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/euro2000/teams/england/790657.stm |access-date=4 October 2005 |archive-date=31 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060531043458/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/euro2000/teams/england/790657.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Quote box|width=28%|align=right|quote="We've played two and a half minutes of stoppage time. England trail by 2 goals to 1. Beckham could raise the roof here with a goal&nbsp;... I don't believe it! David Beckham scores the goal to take England all the way to the World Cup Finals!&nbsp;... Give that man a Knighthood!"|source=—Television commentary on Beckham's stoppage time {{convert|30|yd|adj=on}} curling free-kick against Greece in the 2002 World Cup qualifying game in October 2001.<ref>"The Amazing David Beckham Goal That Sent England to the 2002 World Cup". The Atlantic. Retrieved 23 May 2014</ref>}}

On 15 November 2000, following [[Kevin Keegan]]'s resignation as England manager in October, Beckham was promoted to team captain by the caretaker manager [[Peter Taylor (footballer born 1953)|Peter Taylor]], and then kept the role under new manager [[Sven-Göran Eriksson]].<ref name="captain"/>

Beckham played a major role in helping England qualify for the [[2002 FIFA World Cup]], starring in an impressive [[2001 Germany v England football match|5–1 victory]] over [[Germany national football team|Germany]] in Munich.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/1515667.stm|title=Awesome England thrash Germany|website=[[BBC Sport]]|publisher=BBC|date=1 September 2001}}</ref> The final step in Beckham's conversion from villain to national hero happened in England's final qualifying game against [[Greece national football team|Greece]] on 6 October 2001.<ref name="Greece">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2002/1575190.stm|title=England reach World Cup finals|website=BBC Sport|publisher=BBC|access-date=12 September 2014|archive-date=27 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227042004/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2002/1575190.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> England needed to win or draw the match to qualify outright for the World Cup, but were losing 2–1 with little time remaining. When [[Teddy Sheringham]] was fouled {{convert|8|yd|0|spell=in}} outside the Greek penalty area, England were awarded a free-kick and Beckham ensured England's qualification with a curling strike of the kind that had become his trademark.<ref name="Greece"/> Beckham was voted the [[BBC Sports Personality of the Year]] for 2001, and finished runner-up to [[Luís Figo]] of Portugal, for the [[FIFA World Player of the Year]] award.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1715960.stm|title=Figo best in world|website=BBC Sport|publisher=BBC|access-date=12 September 2014|archive-date=2 February 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030202113856/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1715960.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>