England have beaten Ecuador 1-0 in their first knockout match of the World Cup Finals at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion in Stüttgart on Sunday after a stunning free-kick from the England captain David Beckham in the second-half.

Ecuador started strongly, and had the best chance of the first-half, with Carlos Tenorio breaking free on the England goal, but his shot was saved very well by a last ditch tackle from Ashley Cole.

John Terry was yellow-carded early in the half, for a foul on Carlos Tenorio, which added to the pressure on England, with Ecuador looking very capable of scoring.

Both teams were pushing, with Ecuador defending well and forcing the England back-four into conceding a string of corner-kicks.

Owen Hargreaves suffered an injury in the last minutes of the half, with it looking unlikely that he will be able to continue with the match.

The game went into half-time 0-0 with Ecuador looking the stronger team and with England having barely had a chance on goal.

The second-half saw bitty play from both sides, with Ecuador forcing another string of corners from England, with England head coach Sven Goran Eriksson getting Peter Crouch and Wayne Bridge to warm-up.

At the hour-mark, just as the Three Lions coach was about to make the double substitution, England were awarded a free-kick from 25 yards-out.

England captain David Beckham took the free-kick, which he curled beautifully over the wall and off the inside of the post to make it 1-0 to England.

Frank Lampard had the perfect chance to double the scoring minutes later, but unselfishly crossed the ball into the path of Wayne Rooney, who failed to make contact.

Ecuador made two swift substitutions when Edwin Tenorio came off for Christian Lara in the 68th minute, with Carlos Tenorio getting injured minutes later and being replaced by Ivan Kaviedes.

England started to find their feet after the goal, with Lampard having a host of chances, which he just couldn’t strike properly and England lacking any support in the penalty-area.

Jamie Carragher replaced Joe Cole in the 77th minute, with Carragher replacing Hargreaves at right-back and Hargreaves moving into midfield.

A loose ball from the England defence let Edison Mendez have a shot, but his shot didn’t trouble Paul Robinson in the England goal.

Ecuador started pushing for an equaliser, with Valencia and Kaviedes both having long-range shots that were off target, with the Ecuadorian left-back riasco making some decisive runs at the England goal, but the England defence held strong.

David Beckham, who had been physically sick after scoring his goal, was replaced by Aaron Lennon with four minutes to go, and almost had a chance of a breakthrough, but had been instructed by the England boss to keep the ball rather than shooting.

The game finished 1-0 to England, with The Three Lions now due to face the winner of the match later on Sunday, with Portugal facing Holland's Oranje.