Understandably, England's 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign is largely remembered for two events.

The first is the famous 5-1 win over arch rivals Germany in Munich, with the second being David Beckham's stoppage-time equaliser against Greece, which subsequently sent the Three Lions to the tournament in the Far East.

Moments of such magnitude have resulted in most of the other matches from that group phase being largely forgotten, including the encounter against Finland 14 years ago today that saw Beckham score another vital goal.

Sven-Goran Eriksson's men had started the qualification process in poor form courtesy of a loss to Germany in the last ever competitive fixture at the old Wembley. They then followed that up with a 0-0 draw in Helsinki.

It meant that when the Finns headed to Anfield for the return meeting, England needed to collect all three points if they were to stand any realistic chance of qualifying for the main competition automatically.

Despite the importance held by a victory, aside from a couple of long-range efforts from Beckham, it was a nervy start by the home side, who fell behind in the 26th minute.

England failed to clear Joonas Kolkka's corner and they were duly punished when Crystal Palace midfielder Aki Riihilahti flicked the ball beyond the reach of recalled goalkeeper David Seaman.

It seemed that the Scandinavians would take that one-goal advantage into the break, but 60 seconds before the whistle was blown, Michael Owen restored parity.

Andy Cole failed to control Gary Neville's drilled cross, but he was still able to pick out the Liverpool striker on the edge of the area. His half-volley took the slightest of deflections, which spun away from Antti Niemi and in via the post.

Then, five minutes after the restart, it was Beckham's moment to steal the headlines. Paul Scholes threaded a pass through for his Manchester United colleague, who in turn sent his swerving effort into the bottom corner of Niemi's net.

It was Beckham's first goal for his country since the 1998 World Cup and also his first at senior international level from open play.

Owen hit the bar as England set about making sure of the outcome, while up the other end Liverpool striker Jari Litmanen was denied by Seaman from six yards out.

Ultimately, though, it was Beckham that proved to be the match winner as England returned to winning ways.

In his post-match interview, Beckham told reporters: "My goal has been a long time coming. I enjoyed it. It was a great moment for me [and] to win was even better. I love scoring goals and scoring one for England after all the hype was great.

"Michael got us back into it and I hit the target and scored. I felt I did quite well today. It is whole team and their character that impressed me."

ENGLAND: Seaman; Powell, Ferdinand, Campbell, Neville; Beckham, Gerrard, Scholes, McManaman; Owen, Cole

FINLAND: Niemi; Ylonen, Tihinen, Hyypia, Pasanen; Kolkka, Nurmela, Wiss, Rihilahti; Litmanen, Johansson