Joe Lovejoy wrote in The Sunday Times: ‘It is apparent that the England coach would move heaven and earth or at least Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard to avoid bringing his captain David Beckham off.'
‘Aaron Lennon should be encouraged and exploited, but let nobody call him a mere midfielder. He has the essential winger's skills in abundance: great pace, the courage to use it, skilled control, the ability to go outside the full-back and to hit the line and pull the ball across the goalmouth. David Beckham can't, and thereby hangs a tale,' wrote Brian Glanville in The Sunday Times.
‘So long as Sven-Göran Eriksson is England's manager, a severe case of what might be called Beckhamitis can be diagnosed. Beckham, beyond doubt, has a superb right foot, with which he can take spectacular free kicks and pick out players in the goalmouth from long range like a howitzer. But his lack of speed, his inability to get round the back, to get anywhere near the goalline, means that he can never be counted as a classic winger.'
‘I'd like to see David Beckham go out wide more because for me he still puts in the most dangerous cross in world football,' says Gordon Banks.
Lennon told England's official website: "I found out I was in the squad on the day when Michelle [the England team administrator] called me up and said, "You've made the squad." I wasn't jumping about because I just couldn't believe it. It took a while for it actually to sink in.
"I haven't taken too much notice of the squad number (19 worn by Paul Gascoigne in Italia 90). Obviously Gazza was a great player and he liked to dribble, but I was happy to have any number."
"Having the Spurs players around helped me to settle in. Training with England has been very quick and the standard very good – similar to Spurs."
Ahead of tonight's friendly against Hungary at Old Trafford, Eriksson said: "We haven't decided anything about substitutes because most of the players can play 90 minutes. It is not planned 45 minutes here or there and then another player coming in."