England captain Beckham was one of the stars of the show as he scored against Azerbaijan on Wednesday and looked back to his very best.

But Beckham is adamant he didn’t even read criticism of previous performances and is only concentrating on helping England to reach the 2006 World Cup Finals.

He said: "It was a good victory over Azerbaijan and I don't think I had a point to prove. I don't listen to the criticism. I love playing football and once I'm out there on the pitch, I prove that I can play good football.

"It's always great playing at Newcastle. The fans are always exceptional and they've shown that again. I enjoyed the match."

Beckham believes the result has put England in a strong position at the top of World Cup Qualifying, European Group 6 and was pleased with the result.

He said: "It was like the game against Northern Ireland at Old Trafford. We had to be patient, but we knew we would always score a goal.

"It's been funny in the last two games where we've gone in 0-0 at half-time and come out second-half winners. Everyone was expecting us to beat Azerbaijan 10-0 after their last game against Poland and it was important the players stayed strong and focused. We knew we would break them down."