Beckham provides supporting role in Terry's redemption

Bonded by bitter experience, captains past and present provided valuable mutual support at Wembley as Galaxy star demonstrated he can still play part, writes Jason Burt

David Beckham congratulates John Terry on scoring England's first goal against the US at Wembley, having provided the cross which the defender headed home (PA)

David Beckham knows all about the importance of redemption. He has suffered a few career lows himself – not least last season when he was exiled at Real Madrid by Fabio Capello only to win the Italian round to such an extent that not only was an unlikely league title gained, but a place in his plans for England earned also. Capello feels he owes Beckham and he doesn't forget. On Wednesday evening, while not exactly lighting up Wembley, Beckham still showed his value both on and off the pitch.

On it, the 33-year-old LA Galaxy midfielder created the opening goal for John Terry. Off it, he spoke passionately about the effect scoring with that header had on the man whose penalty miss for Chelsea in last week's Champions League Final caused him so much distress. "You could see the emotion in him," Beckham said and it was to him that Terry ran after scoring. Initially there was a muted response by the defender but then floods of relief.

"You could see the emotion going through him and in his eyes, once he had scored that goal, once he was celebrating, there was a slight sort of relief there as well for him," Beckham said. "A lot has been made this week of the disappointment that he's going through and you can see the hurt in him still and it will be there for a while. But he's a character who will get over it. He is one of the strongest characters that I've ever come across in football and he's got a lot of support within the team and outside of the team and in his club. It'll be hard for a while but he'll get over it."

Of course, Beckham is speaking from experience. Effectively blamed by Glenn Hoddle for England's exit from the 1998 World Cup after his sending-off against Argentina, he also missed from the penalty spot against Portugal in Euro 2004 as England were condemned to another failure in a major tournament in which he had played disappointingly. In that campaign, also, he missed from the spot against France while, a year earlier, he slipped as he took another penalty, ballooning the ball over against Turkey, in a vital qualification tie. Fortunately the goalless draw was enough for England but the miss was similar to Terry's mishap in Moscow.

Beckham, a European Cup winner himself in 1999 with Manchester United, also agreed with parallels being drawn with Stuart Pearce – now one of Capello's assistants – missing from the penalty spot in the 1990 World Cup and then scoring in Euro 96 and Terry's goal against the United States. "You saw it [passion] in Pearce's face when he scored that penalty and I think you saw it in JT's face when he scored," Beckham said. "It's a slight relief for him but he'll still be hurting."

Of his free-kick that led to Terry heading past Tim Howard in the 38th minute, Beckham added: "I put the ball in the right area and it was written for JT to get on the end of it, especially after his disappointment last week. We were all happy to see the ball go in the back of the net and him celebrating. To be captain and to score at goal at Wembley means a lot to JT. No one can ever question his passion and his dedication and that's what we look at."

Beckham, who was handed a commemorative golden cap by Sir Bobby Charlton before kick-off to mark passing his century of appearances in the last match against France, refused to be drawn on who should take on the role of captain permanently. "We've got players right through the team who could be captain," said Beckham, who relinquished the role himself after the 2006 World Cup before being bombed out of the squad by Steve McClaren. "Rio's done a great job, Stevie G's done a great job and obviously JT." Capello would have winced at Beckham's use of nicknames for the players – it is something he does not like, unlike his predecessor McClaren – but would agree that there are strong candidates to chose from.

Withdrawn at half-time, Beckham's own role for England will undoubtedly be steadily reduced in the future. But the feeling among Capello and his staff is that, with a lack of pace in the England squad, his passing ability and delivery from set-pieces remains one of the most potent attacking weapons the team has to rely on, especially after shifting back to a 4-4-2 formation. "It's one of the strongest things that I can do in the game, whether I start the game or whether I come on in the game," Beckham said of his accuracy from corners and free-kicks. His main challenger is undoubtedly David Bentley, but it is also felt that the Blackburn Rovers winger has a long way to go before he matures into a reliable international performer.