A triumphant night for England in Athens as Sven Goran Eriksson's men recorded their fifth successive victory to keep alive hopes of an automatic qualification place for next year's World Cup finals in Korea and Japan.

Second half goals from Manchester United midfield pair Paul Scholes and David Beckham gave England a fully deserved victory from a match in which the Three Lions displayed no little intelligence and patience to secure a win that their superior desire and penetration on the night merited. It was a highly professional performance from England who began solidly, nullifying the threat posed by their hosts, before imposing their own authority on the game.

England paid the Greeks a fair degree of respect in the opening stages, soaking up the initial pressure at the back, while Robbie Fowler's sprightly performance in attack offered the best hope of a first half breakthrough.

The Liverpool frontman - still razor sharp after a season of success at club level - went close with a bullet header on 32 minutes, before setting up partner Michael Owen for a shot on goal with a superlative pass from deep inside his own half. Owen managed only to find the side netting on this occasion but the passage of play demonstrated the understanding that the two have developed for both club and country, confounding the critics that have suggested that the pair cannot play together.

Behind them, the midfield trio of Beckham, Scholes and Gerrard ably protected a defence in which Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole stood out as youngmen playing with a maturity well beyond their tender years.

Sven Goran Eriksson looked contented with a 0-0 scoreline at half time but Emile Heskey's incisive run at the beginning of the second period was an indication that the Swede had encouraged his players to go for a victory that became all the more vital as news of Germany's triumph in Albania filtered through to the Olympic stadium.

As had been the case against Finland at Anfield, it was the captain, David Beckham, who injected an urgency into his side, coming deep to pick up the ball and probe for openings with a delicacy of touch and a tireless display of running that inspired those around him.

The goal that broke the deadlock was a collective triumph conceived by individuals with a point to prove. Robbie Fowler, who, by his own admission, has not found the net as regularly as he would have wished at international level, played an intuitive reverse pass perfectly into the run of the onrushing Philip Neville. The Manchester United full back, so cruelly maligned in thewake of Euro 2000, took the ball on past two challenges before finding Emile Heskey on the edge of the area. Heskey, who scored 22 goals as a striker for Liverpool this season, vindicated Eriksson's decision to pick him on the left flank by producing a pin-point cross which found Paul Scholes lurking, unmarked on the penalty spot.

The Manchester United midfielder is the top goalscorer in Eriksson's new-look team and he eagerly took the opportunity to score his 13th international goal. He has now found the net in England's last three outings and consistently proves himself to be one of the world's finest attacking midfield talents.

Having taken the lead, England rarely looked like letting the hosts back into the game. David Seaman was hardly called upon to make a save but he will have been grateful to his Arsenal colleague Ashley Cole for a vital lunging tackle on 72 minutes that prevented a near-certain goal. It was a perfectly timed challenge that epitomised the skill and spirit that England demonstrated on the night.

With the game moving into its closing stages, England looked to have settled for a 1-0 victory but these days it seems impossible to prevent David Beckham from stealing the headlines - and so it was the case again. Having been brought down some 28 yards from goal, the captain got up and dusted himself down, before curling in a free kick of such bewitching quality that the goalkeeper remained rooted firmly to the spot as the ball soared high into the angle of the goal.

It was an emphatic end to a well-earned victory that confirms Sven Goran Eriksson as the most successful incoming England coach of all time. The Swede has brought a calm focus to the England camp and appears to have found a formation and style of play perfectly suited to the abundance of young talent that he has at his disposal.

More important than records and the past, though, is the present and the future and this victory means that England's World Cup hopes remain very much alive. After the game Beckham paid tribute to the collective effort that he and the rest of the players had put in, saying: "It was a great team performance. We worked hard, got the result we wanted and can now go on from here."

The clash against group leaders Germany in Munich on September 1 is now terrifically poised. England lie six points behind their old adversaries with a game in hand, meaning that a win in Germany will probably be required to overtake Rudi Voller's side at the top of the table. Eriksson admitted that he is anticipating a tough game, saying: "Anything could happen in Germany and we shall look forward to that."

"But first of all we will have a holiday," he concluded. After five wins out of five few could contend that it is anything other than a well-deserved break.

Greece: Nikopolidis, Mayrogendis, Fyssas, Dabizas, Ouzoundis,Goumas, Basinas, Zagorakis, Karagounis, Machlas, Vryzas.

Referee: Rune Pedersen (Norway)

Goals: Scholes (63), Beckham (86)