Sven-Goran Eriksson's men were forced to settle for a share of the spoils in their penultimate Euro 2004 warm-up international as a Shinji Ono goal earned Japan a 1-1 draw at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Michael Owen's 25th goal in 55 internationals had divided the teams at the interval after a handling error by the Japanese goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki.

England, who are still in the middle of their physical preperations for Euro 2004, were noticeably tired in the second half but Beckham insisted that this was normal at this stage in building-up to a international tournament.

"It was a good work-out and what every player needed," the Engalnd captain said.

"But we were all feeling the pace after 35 minutes. It was a good fitness test and we can take a lot from the first 35 minutes but we all suffered from not having a good rest [since the end of the season].

"It is up to the manager and coaching staff to make sure we get the rest we need. It won't be a problem for Euro 2004."

England started with a midfield four who lined up in the much-discussed 'diamond' formation, with Frank Lampard replacing Nicky Butt in the holding role and Steven Gerrard pushed out to the left.

"It [the formation] worked well,'' Beckham said. "It's about hard work and playing together. I don't know [that it is the best system], it is a new system."

Though he came off late in the second half, Beckham is in good shape and should be fine for England's match against Iceland on Saturday.

He said: "It has gone a bit sensitive and I've not trained for about 10 days - but it is not a problem."