teammates urged the referee to give Beckham the red card. However, Sports Illustrated was critical of the Argentines' theatrics in that event, stating that Simeone first delivered a "heavy-handed challenge" on Beckham and then "fell like a ton of bricks" to get Beckham sent off, noting that the Argentines used similar "theatrics" in their next match against the Netherlands which got a Dutch player sent off (however, Argentina lost that match 2–1). 2002 World Cup Another friendly was played in 2000, again at Wembley, but ended 0–0. Then, the teams were drawn to meet once more in the group stage of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Having been knocked out by Argentina in two of the previous three World Cups in which they had competed, tension in England was high. This tension was raised by the England team, gaining only a draw in their opening match against Sweden, meaning that they needed a good result against Argentina to avoid being eliminated from the competition. David Beckham, who was then the England captain, scored the only goal of the match, a penalty kick following a foul on Michael Owen by Mauricio Pochettino, which many felt redeemed Beckham in the eyes of the English sporting public for his dismissal four years earlier. As The Times described it in their match report, "vilified for the red card that helped to usher England out of the 1998 World Cup at the hands of Argentina, he wakes this morning with his halo brighter than ever." Despite a late onslaught from the Argentine players at the end of the second half of the game, England maintained the scoreline and won 1–0, and partly as a result of this Argentina (one of the pre-tournament favourites to win) were knocked out in the first round. Although the Argentine players and public criticised the awarding of the penalty kick, the game was generally played in a good, if highly competitive, spirit, and there was none of the bitterness that had affected the 1966, 1986 and 1998 meetings. Diego Simeone and David Beckham, whose clash in the 1998 meeting had resulted in Beckham's sending-off, shook hands in the middle of the game. As expected, Argentine fans were extremely disappointed with the result of this match and the subsequent draw with Sweden. A new "controversy" developed among the fans in the aftermath of the game when it was claimed that Argentine