Beckham is warming up

England captain David Beckham blamed the stifling heat for The Three Lions' fading performance in the second half.

Each player lost between five and ten pounds while the team consumed 70 litres of water as the heat took its toll. A number of players took ice baths during half-time in a bid to cool down.

England dominated the opening 45 minutes, scoring through an own goal in the third minute when Carlos Gamarra headed Beckham's curling free-kick into his own net.

Sven's men had a handful of good chances to extend their lead before the break but in the end were forced to stave off a resilient Paraguay who enjoyed a period of pressure as the game entered the last quarter.

"You don't realise how hot it was out there," said Beckham, who completed his 32nd assist in an England shirt.

"We were good at times but we gave away the ball too much. But it was hot and we got what we wanted. That was a good start and we have the three points.

"The performance could be better but we will work on that. We set out to get the three points and we did that. We let them (Paraguay) pass the ball around too much.

"But we were exhausted. We can put it down to that because we are usually strong and our fitness levels are high."

Beckham added that the afternoon kick-off - 3pm German time, an hour earlier for British fans watching on TV - did not help and was pleased that England's next two games, against Trinidad & Tobago and Sweden, will both get going in the cool of the evening.

"We will be alright. This was a three o'clock kick-off and is right in the middle the day. It was 28 or 29 degrees out there.

"We must perform better better and play better but we got what we wanted."

Stay with TheFA.com as we bring you the reaction to England's win in Frankfurt.