Denmark 0-3 England
England were given an easy passage into the World Cup quarter-finals after a three-goal blitz against Denmark in the first half.
Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen bundled in under pressure from Rio Ferdinand before Michael Owen and Emile Heskey broke their tournament ducks with well-struck shots.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's men lit up the Big Swan Stadium in front of 10,000 jubilant England fans and will next meet the winner of Monday's clash between Belgium and free-scoring Brazil.
They made a dream start on five minutes, capitalising on a lapse by the unusually disorganised Danish defence to win a corner.
Beckham whipped one of his best crosses towards a leaping Ferdinand, whose header was fumbled by Sorensen for an own goal.
Sven's men had chances to double their lead soon afterwards, Owen and Heskey squandering chances when put through on goal.
5 mins: Sorensen puts through his own net after a Ferdinand header
22 mins: Owen scores his first goal of World Cup 2002
44 mins: Heskey fires home in style
But their second breakthrough was not long in coming.
The impressive Nicky Butt flicked on a Trevor Sinclair cross to find Owen, who made no mistake this time, slotting home from close range.
Denmark - who had lost experienced right-back Thomas Helveg to injury early on - were rattled, but showed promise coming forward, using the pace of Dennis Rommedahl and Jesper Gronkjaer down the flanks.
Freed in plenty of space left by a precise pass from Thomas Gravesen, Ebbe Sand should have pulled one back for Denmark but fired wide of David Seaman's goal.
He was made to rue his miss just before half-time, when Heskey put the game out of Denmark's reach.
The Liverpool striker, who has been widely criticised for a goal drought dating back to Munich, latched on to a great ball from Beckham and smashed past Sorensen.
The only blot on England's first-half copybook was some wasteful use of possession.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's team talk seemed to address that flaw and his men carved out good chances for Beckham and substitute Robbie Fowler after the break.
But they were still guilty of allowing the Danes too much space at times and may well be punished for that crime in the latter rounds.
Sven's men look set for a clash with Brazil in Shizuoka next Friday (21 June) and will go into their quarter-final in confident but cautious mood.
Denmark: Thomas Sorensen, Thomas Helveg (Kasper Bogelund 7), Niclas Jensen,
Rene Henriksen, Martin Laursen, Dennis Rommedahl, Thomas Gravesen,
Stig Tofting (Claus Jensen 58), Jesper Gronkjaer, Ebbe Sand, John Dahl Tomasson.
Subs Not Used: Jesper Christiansen, Jan Heintze, Jorgensen, Peter Kjaer,
Peter Lovenkrands, Steven Lustu, Peter Madsen, Jan Michaelsen, Brian Nielsen, Christian Poulsen.
England: David Seaman, Danny Mills, Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, David Beckham, Paul Scholes (Kieron Dyer 48), Nicky Butt, Trevor Sinclair,
Emile Heskey (Teddy Sheringham 69), Michael Owen (Robbie Fowler 46).
Subs Not Used: Wayne Bridge, Wes Brown, Joe Cole, David James, Martin Keown, Nigel Martyn, Gareth Southgate, Darius Vassell.
Referee: M Merk (Germany).
| OFFICIAL MATCH STATS|
| || Denmark || England|
|Goals || 0 || 3|
|Shots on goal || 10 || 8|
|Shots on target || 3 || 7|
|Fouls committed || 19 || 14|
|Corner kicks || 8 || 3|
|Penalty kicks || 0 || 0|
|Caught offside || 2 || 3|
|Own goals || 0 || 0|
|Yellow cards || 1 || 1|
|Red cards || 0 || 0|
|Ball possession (%) || 63 || 37|
|ACTUAL PLAYING TIME || |
|First half - 35 mins || Second half - 21 mins |